GLIMPSES
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VENERABLE MOTHER M:.RY OF THE INCARNATION, (
Foundress and first Superior of the Ursuline Convent of Quebec (1639)
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GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
SCENES FROM THE HISTORY
OF THE
URSULINES OF QUEBEC
DURING
TWO HUNDRED YEARS
1639 - 1839
BY A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY
SECOND EDITION
REVISED, AUGMENTED AND COMPLETED BY
REMINISCENCES OF THE LAST FIFTY YEARS; 1839-1889
A. M.D. G.
QUEBEC /
PRINTED BY L. J. DEMERS & FRERE vy
30, De la Fabrique street A, 4
1897 UY
Imprimatur,
+ L. N., Archiep. Cyren., Adm,
30 Bept. 1897.
4 J. M. J.
ANonuA
? TO OUR DEAR MOTHER
4 VENERABLE MARIE GUYART OF THE INCARNATION
4 FIRST SUPERIOR
r AND wit
a MADAME DE LA PELTRIE :
4 JOINT-FOUNDRESS OF THE MONASTERY
THIS LITTLE SKET@¢H OF ITS HISTORY
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Ey. AFFECTIONATELY
7 DEDICATED,
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PREFACE
Some twenty years ago the pages of the “ Glimpses of
the Monastery ”’ were written to supply a want which
had long been felt ; narnely, that of possessing in English,
and within a small compass, an account of the chicf
events that have marked the history of the Convent
since its foundation.
The object of the work suggested the plan. It was
not to be a dry compendium of facts and dates. It should
represent the character and spirit of the institution of
which it treats, by presenting before the reader the
varying vicissitudes through which it has passed from
the first hazardous undertaking of its foundation to the
present day. It should introduce us not only to those
‘‘ valiant women” who shared the courage and long
suffering of the holy priests and missionaries of the
“ heroic age ” of Canada, but it should acquaint us also
with some of those facts and incidents which occur to
vary the uniformity of convent life, presenting us even
the more intimate pictures of the lives of the nuns.
Such was the plan of the work which, however, had
VIII PREFACE
to be accomplished without the leisure that would have
have been desirable, and , without foregoing either the
duties of the class-room or the stated religious exercises
of the community.
But it was intended for a class of readers on whose
unlimited indulgence we could depend. The little book
treating of the Convent would be read by the friends
and relatives of the nuns, by their pupils of present
or former times, by persons young or old who love
to meet in their reading the dear name of God and
His Saints ; by strangers even who know little of
monastic life, and whose curiosity we are willing to
gratify by showing them something of that little world
which openly professes to be ‘‘ unlike the world ”’.
The chief documents and reliable writings which have
preserved the early history of the monastery, are:
I. The Relations of the Jesuits, published in France
from 1632 to 1672. As reprinted by the Canadian gov-
ernment in 1868, they form three large octavo voluies.
II. The life and Letters of Venerable Mother Marie
Guyard de l’Incarnation, first Superior of the Monastery,
who died in 1672. During the space of some thirty years
this admirable woman entertained, in the interests of
religion and the good of souls, a vast correspondence
with persons of various rank and condition in France,
and especially with her son who became a Benedictine
monk, and who after his mother’s death, published a
selection of her letters.
PREFACE IX
III. For events of later years, for the lives of the
nuns, etc., we have the annals of the monastery, the
obitviry notices of the nuns, often supplemented by
reliable traditions, by letters, ete.
The favorable reception that awaited the ‘‘ Glimpses of
the Monastery” on its first. appearance leads us to expect
it will obtain a wider circulation in its improved form.
The history of Canada has become better known in the
neighboring Republic within a few years past, and neither
our English nor our American friends are indifferent to
the reputation of our educational institutions. They are
interested to find that while the country was yet in its
infancy, a feeble colony struggling for existence, the sacred
fire, destined to enlighten the intelligences of future
generations was carefully maintained in the religious
institutions already founded.
On the other hand, we have been most fortunate in
being permitted to submit the work, both the ‘“ Glimpses
of the Monastery” and the ‘ Reminiscences”’, to the
enlightened and judicious criticism of a Reverend friend,
whose qualifications in all that relates to literature are
only equalled by his exquisite delicacy and readiness to
oblige.
Ursuline Convent, Quebec, November 2Ist, 1897.
CONTENTS
BOOK I
THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS — 1039 - 1689
CHAPTER I
FROM THE PRESENT TO THE PAST
PAGES,
[ntroductory .....ccccceeveeeeenees
Cob m meee Pees Se eeeees He eeeenes tereesene OP
INSTRUCTION NEEDED IN NEW FRANCE
Quebec before 1639.—Intentior of the founder of the City.—
First missionaries.—Early letters.—The Christian village
Of Sillery.......ccscsessseveee ves on Seine sees saesasendecrAdse GeeaevesceugGaneivs
CHAPTER II
THE WAYS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE
Who was Mother Marie Guyart of the Incarnation ?—Her
apostolic spirit ; her call to found a Convent in Canada.—
Madame de la Peltrie—The Archbishop of Tours.—
Journey of the Foundresses to Paris, to Dieppe.—Mother
Cécile de la Croix.--The departure.—The voyage. .........0
CHAPTER III
ARRIVAL OF THE URSULINES IN CANADA
The harbor of 'Tadoussac.—First night on land.—The reveption
at Quebec.—A visit to the Indian hamlet.—.Lhe Hospital
nuns and the Ursulines part
Jel eaeee COO Fe were eee tr eesersee reste sneeene y
13
XII CONTENTS
CHAPTER IV
THE LABOR OF THREE YEARS
PAGES,
Study of the Indian languages.—“ The Louvre ’.—Malady
among the ‘“ seminarists’.—Nuns from Paris.—Mother
St. Clare describes the little convent.—Poverty and other
difficulties.—Corner-stone of a new Monastery laid........0.
CHAPTER V
MADAME DE LA PELTRIE AND THE INDIANS
The foundress boards with the nuns.—A_ procession.—Madame
de la Peltrie at the Indian Council—An excursion to
Sillery.—Midnight Mass at the Indian Chapel.............. cone
CHAPTER VI
GOOD EFFEOTS OF INSTRUCTION
The Indian girls in the wigwam.—In the Convent, preparing
for tirst Communion.—Examples of their piety and
docility.—Teresa the Huron.—The seminarists among
their own people...........
U.uAPTER VII
EIGHT YEARS IN THE NEW MONASTERY
Progress of Christianity.—The Monastery in readiness.—
The-nuns take possession.—l‘irst Mass.—Neminarists and
Indian women instructed.—Parlor visitors.—Labors of
seven nuns during five years.—-Mother Mary’s spirit seen
in her letters.—Madamede la Peltrie aids in the Convent.—
Other laborers.—Mother St. Athanasius, superior.—Miss
de Boulogne joins the COMMUNIEY ........ccecssteeeegereee eseeees
CHAPTER VIII
MOTHER ST. JOSEPH AND THE HURONS
The Huron braves visit Quebec,—-Their reports.—The ‘Mother ”
of the Hurons, and her class of Huron giris—Her
neophytes among the Huron warriors.—The remnants of
the tribe at Quebec.........cccceesceves --:c02 + cecneevescencecseeseeees
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CONTENTS : XITI
CHAPTER IX
ONE NIGHT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
PAGES.
An evening scene in the Yonvent.—The alarm of fire—Were
all safe ?—-Poor Cécile !—Hospitality offered and accepted.
—Visit to the ruins —A visit of condolence from the
Hurons.—Indian harangue .....s00ccescceseeteeergseereenenseeseeens OZ
CHAPTER X
COURAGE IN ADVERSITY
Invitation to return to France. — Resolution of the nuns...
Their poverty.—Charity of the colonists.—The foundation-
3 stone laid again.—I[lIness of Mother St. Joseph.—Her
a dying message.— Brief obituary.—A unique pearl,............ 62
‘Ss CHAPTER XI
THE SECOND MONASTERY
The nuns remove to their new convent.—Pupils more numer-
ous. — Education of the times.—‘‘ Good seminarists ”’.—
Madame de la Peltrie’s church.—Mother Mary of the In-
carnation’s labors.—Her writings...... Ccveeed verse csecersecneruesee UL
= CHAPTER XII
THE NOVITIATE. ARRIVAL OF BISHOP LAVAL
eB The secret of a religious vocation.—The Misses Bourdon as
: novices.—Miss Boutet and Miss Gudefroy.—Miss Angélique
‘ Poisson of Gentilly.—Bishop Laval lodges near the con.
3 VONGicyearesrceceseess vorhuh Svgesnbadvaredeenedsusvecensespelebvecdiogsccessdere: OF
Af J
4 i CHAPTER XIII
4 THE URSULINES AND THE IROQUOIS e
CIVILIZATION OF THE INDIANS
Iroquois ambassadors at the Convent.—The female Sachem.—
The Convent becomes a fortress.—Intrepidity of the nuns.
—Attempt to civilize the Indians—Opinion of Mother
Mary of the Incarnation.—Result. of the experiment.—
Influence of Christianity upon the Indian race, ........ ..... 84
XIV CONTENTS
CHAPTER XIV
i THE INMATES OF THE MONASTERY AGAIN We
rh PAGES,
th A picture of life and manners.—Obligations of the Ursulines to aa
i the Marquis de Tracy.—New candidates for the novitiate. i
i Instruction of the pupils —Ursulines from France.—Their
reception and visits.—List of the nuns in 1671....... sc. D4
CHAPTER XV
i i”
i] THE CLOSE OF WELL-SPENT YEARS a
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{)} Illness of Madame de la Peltrie —Her death. Another greater Rei
ii sacrifice foreseen.--Last moments of Venerable Mother ¥
it Marie de |’ Incarnation.—Her burial.—A ppreciations of her BR)
i GURPAQ DON passiccsccasnsesteseidasespwiaer belied: teases alaanaacdavates LOT “a
Li ‘4
| CHAPTER XVI ‘
i IN AFTER YEARS "
ii The work of Mother Mary of the Incarnation continued.— 9
| Father Lalemant —Statistics.—A hallowed anniversary,— 3
ai A beloved name.—The Indian pupils.—Constitutions of oo
iil the Ursulines.—Election of a SUperior......ccecsseeceeceeeeeees 113 a
i -
i CHAPTER XVII 4
r iy ue
i A MEMORABLE DATE e
au a
Lit 1686 E
i Laying the corner-stone of “ La Sainte-Famille.”” — Death and "
wie burial of Agnes Weskives.—October; aspect of the Mon- a
My astery.—The alarm, “ All is lost!” — Three of the specta- r
ia) tors.—How the nuns bear the trial ............ceeceesoccesces coetes 119 2
“ CHAPTER XVIII ar
RESTORATION OF THE MONASTERY
The Ursulines welcomed at the Hétel-Dieu.—The feast of St.
Ursula.—Incidents.—A little convent.—Friends in adver-
sity.—The winter and spring pass away.—Classes opened
for day pupils.—Mortal illness of Mother Ste. Croix.—
Fervor.—The restoration completed.......s..+5 sssscses sosveesess. L2T
CONTENTS XV
BOOK II
DURING SEVENTY YEARS — 1689 - 1759
CHAPTER I
OLOSE OF THE FIRST HALF CENTURY
PAGES.
Coincidence of the restoration.—Vocations.—A new chapel.—
Guardians of the Monastery.—The ey threatened by
the Indians.—Preparations for WaAPr....-...cccscseeeereeeee eeeeeeee 137
CHAPTER II
THE ALARMS OF WAR
Contrast of the present with the past.—The annals give an
account of the siegye.—Our Lady of Victory.—How the nuns
keep & foatival.........scssccesssecsesecs sovvesoescocccsces stecssese. copees, 148
CHAPTER III
MOTHER DE FLECELLES OF ST. ATHANASIUS
The second Superior of the Monastery.—Her youth.—Her
vocation to Canada.— Mother St. Clare.—“ Our most honored
and beloved Mother” described By the Annals.—The
Constitutions of Paris adopted .......csseccsseesceeeesseesreseseeeees 149
CHAPTER IV
THE URSULINE CONVENT OF THREE RIVERS
Educational institutions in Canada.—Project of Bishop Saint-
Valier.—Consultations and SHUR H ORT PONDOtY of the
new Convent.—Trials of a later day.....cc....seccsesceceeeeeereree 106
CHAPTER V
FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART ESTABLISHED
Origin of the Feast of the Sacre:l Heart.—The devotion already
known in the Monastery.—Establishment of the Feast in
the Convent.—The first shrine.—The Association.. aasegeny BOL
XVI CONTENTS
| CHAPTER VI
THE LAST SURVIVOR OF 1639
TH PAGES.
Biographical notice of Mother Charlotte Barré of St. Ignatius.—
Early piety, generosity ——Her edifying life—Links in the
Chain Of tradition... .crrcrceserescscccccsvercosccsccccescoorees
Pe ereeeeerre
CHAPIER VII
> DAWN OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
in Quebec and in the Convent.—Other maladies.—Disasten:
and sufferings.—Return of Bishop de St. Valier after his
The colony menaced by famine, sickness and war.—Epidemy
t
! FORE ORRIN ss anys secsiecestibieass «sig ravivedeesnskacncens¥iceseiaeekeae
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THE THREE CAPTIVES
\ MISS WHEELWRIGHT BECOMES AN URSULINE
The Wheelwright family —The hamlet of Wells, Maine. —The
onset of the Indians.— Esther taken captive. — Father
Bigot discovers and rescues her.—She is received by Gov-
ernor de Vaudreuil and placed in the Convent.—Admitted
as a novice, she makes profession.— Father Bigot’s address.
—'I'wo other captives become Ursulines.........ccscsees seosseess
hal
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iu CHAPTER VIII
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| CHAPTER IX
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The nuns enlarge the convent-building and build the church.—-
Their ardor, their labors.—Their church blessed in 1723,
|
|
|
i ; THE MONASTERY ENLARGED
Ana Cotmpletad: In ThA id caveiesss bocecer Ueseviaesonsecoqngeserers
| CHAPTER X
|
QUEBEC IN 1720: THE NOVITIATE OF THE URSUDINES
AT THE SAME DATE
Charlevoix' picture of life and manners in Quebec.—The novic-
es introduced,— Miss Wheelwright.—Miss de Muy. — Miss
de Boucherville and Missde kamesay.—Miss des Meloises.
Linh —The Misses Gaillard and other.novices ;—More young
q ladies from Montreal, and from the environs of Quebec.—
p
Thoughts on the religious life, ..........cccceeeeeeeeee teense
167
175
189
vu
-”
CONTENTS XVII
CHAPTER XI
THE CHAPEL OF THE SAINTS
PAGES,
Our Lady of Great Power.—Relics and other sacred objects.—
Ex-votos — The ‘Votive Lamp.’’—The de Repentigny
family.—Mother de Repentigny of St. Agatha...........00, 201
CHAPTER XII
EDUCATION IN THE CONVENT
The relation between pupil and “ Mother ’'.—Local Govern-
ment.—Course of studies.—Zeal for education.—The day-
school.—Ettects of religious teaching—Names on old
lists.—Miss Fézerel.—The Misses de Ramesay.—The Misses
Bégon and their schoolmates .........ccccpseenseecsceeeeeees eeseeees 209
CHAPTER XIII
ANCIENT SUPERIORS OF THE COMMUNITY
MARY, PERPETUAL SUPERIOR OF THE URSULINES
The first ten Superiors.—A brief notice of each.—Our Perpetual
Superior.—Act of consecration...... eeanicedvs eoccencevecesd seccesecs Gal
CHAPTER XLV
THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY
Celebration of religious festivals in the olden times.—Prepara-
tions for the Centennial.—The ‘lriduum of Masses.—The
Indians at High Mass.—Some of the inscriptions...........0066 232
se
CHAPTER XV
DEPARTURES DURING THE OENTENNIAL YEAR
COINCIDENCE OF NAMES
Statistics of the Community.—Mother Catherine Pinguet of
the Incarnation.—Her youth.—Her life in the cloister.—
Mother d’Ailleboust of Ste. Croix.—Mother Atmiot of the
Conception.—Other aged nuns.—Golden Jubilees ............ 237
XVIII CONTENTS
CHAPTER XVI
PRIMITIVE TIMES AND MANNERS
CANADIAN SEIGNIORS. MISS DE BECANCOUR, MISS DK BOUCHERVILLE
PAGES.
Mother Marie-Anne Robineau of the Trinity,—The Seignior ‘
Pierre Boucher de Boucherville.—His legacy.—His estates. |
His relatives among the nuns.........scccececsceecceeeeees coveeeseses 240 q
CHAPTER XVII 4
ARRIVAL OF BISHOP DE PONTBRIAND ie »
Count Henri de Pontbriand’s arrival in 1741.—Progress of the
colony under the Marquis de Beauharnais.—- Establishments
of education.—Extent and aspect of the diocese of Quebec. 252
CHAPTER XVIII i
THE MUSES IN THE CLOISTER
Old manuscripts.—A visit from the Marquis Duquesne ; an ode
in his honor.—Other poems in honor of the Bishop........... 256
CHAPTER XIX
THE GUESTS OF THE URSULINES
The Hétel-Dieu of Quebec destroyed by fire.—The peril.—The
dying nun.—Three weeks at the Ursulines ......... .seserseeeee 252
CHAPTER XX
PRELUDES OF THE GREAT CRISIS
Troubles along the frontier.—Loss of vessels.—Failure of crops
and scarcity. — Fate of the Acadians.—Famine threatening.
—The British war-fleet in sight......... ccsccscssescesseseseveeese ss LOD
CHAPTER XXI
DURING THE SiEGE
Preparation for the country’s defence.—The English flect before
Quebec.—The Ursulines leave the cloister.—Aspect of the
General Hospital.— Progress ot the siege. —September 13th. 269
‘}
CONTENTS XIX
CHAPTER XXII
SCENES AFTER THE BATTLE OF THE PLAINS
PAGES.
Midnight at the Hospital.—Burial of Montcalm in the church
of the Ursulines.—Death of two Ursulines at the General
Hospital.—Aspect of the city. —The community in 1759,,,, 274
——#_————
BOOK III
EIGHTY YEARS UNDER ENGLISH RULE — 1759 - 1839
CHAPTER I
FOUR YEARS OF ANXIETY AND SUFFERING
THE CONVENT BECOMES A HOSPITAL
Prisoners of war.—Damages the convent had sustained.—Gen-
eral Murray demands the services of the Ursulines.—The
winter of 1760.—The second siege.—The Convent shelters
the poor.—Classes re-opened.—The Treaty ot 1763 confirms
The Cesston Of Cisiathisss cer ciccacicasvediecscsscesdsésoenseseastv vse . 281
CHAPTER II
OTHER TRIALS AND CONSOLATIONS
BISHOP BRIAND. CLASSES RE-OPENED
Death of Bishop de Pontbriand.—Mortality among the nuns.—
The novitiate re-opened.—Poverty of the Convent.—Arrival
of Bishop Briand.—His generosity.—His solicitude for the
welface of the Ursulines.—Boarders, Day-scholars.—Reli-
BOW TEOW sac srieuchsarvb icccisnansedonrveayarsevasaseusapsesecriakersivavinricc eee
CHAPTER IIL
MOTHER MIGEON OF THE NATIVITY
OTHER SUPERIORS DURING TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
A Superior continued in office beyond the term.—Sketch of
Mother Migeon of the Nativity’s life.—Mother La Grange
of St. Louis.—Mother Boucher of St. Picrre.....cc00 ssceeseceee 2OT
XX CONTENTS
CHAPTER LV
THE CONVENT DURING THE SIRGE or 1775
DIFFICULTIES OF SUBRBEQUENT YRARS
PAGES.
Courage of the nuns during the American invasion, — They
remain in the Cloister.—Details given by Mother St. Louis
d¥Gonzague.—Ten years later, — Calamities. — Decline of
plety im the COUNIY...scccorcercccssececorcees svcrscoes sovsee pconcesees
CHAPTER V
MOTHER ESTHER WHEELWRIGHT AND OTHER SUPERIORS
Character of Mother Esther of the Infant Jesus.x—Her death.—
Mother Davanne ot St. Louis de Gonzague Superior,—Lady
Carleton. — Parlor boarders, — Lady Dorchester sends her
daughter to the Convent.— Mother Poulin of St. Francis,
Superior,—Mother Brassard of St. Clare.— The 150th anniv-
ersary of the foundation of the Convent.......ccecceseee es seeeee
CHAPTER VI
SAD ECHOES OF THE FRENOH REVOLUTION
The Ursulines of Paris.—Record of the times in the annals,—
Letter from the Ursulines of Paris.x—Their dispersion. —
PHO Last: SUPVIVOR seseccassesceeetcarsiscncectendedecnsesssceceedecdsvedeces
CHAPTER VII
CONTRASTED SCENES, IN THE LIFE OF MOTHER DAVANNE OF
8ST. LOUIS DE GONZAGUE
Preparations for a celebration.—A domestic drama.—Madame
Davanne in Paris.—Fatal mistake.—News of sorrow.—Long
career of Mother St. Louis de Gonzague.—Her portrait.—
The pious s00Let....rcrcrcorccorersooesenessercersscessorvcenasecees sscene
CHAPTER VIII
SUPERIORS IN THE EARLY PART OF THE ]9TH CENTURY
MOTHERS ST. URSULA AND 8ST. FRANCIS XAVIER
Group of Superiors.—Mother Marchand of St. Ursula, Mother
Taschereau of St, Francis Xavier.—Sketch of her life.........
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CONTENTS XXI
CHAPTER IX
GRACK STRONGER THAN NATURE
VOCATION OF THE MISSES BERTHELOT
PAGES,
The Misses Berthelot; Mothers St. Francis and St, os
Correspondence with the Ursulines of Waterford,—A
golden Jubilee and a requiem.—Mother St. Monica.......... 336
CHAPTER X
THE URSULINES OF THREE RIVERS GUESTS OF THEIR
SISTERS IN QUEBEC
The meeting.—Conflagration of the Monastery of ‘Three
Rivers.—Mother Theresa of Jesus dies at Quebec.—The
return of the nuns to Three Rivers........cccceece ser sesteeeeerecens G42
CHAPTER XI
THE URSULINES OF QUEBEC AND THE URSULINES
OF NEW ORLEANS
Foundation of the Convent of New Orleans.—Appeal of Bishop
Dubourg.—Candidates tor the mission.—lhe journey.—
Adventures at sea.—The Pirate Ship.—The arrival.—The
sojourn in New Orleans.—A triple link between the two
COMMMUMIGIOGs sg acecsedservacccceve topasioncenegnevesooecsceer sense Cesc teeees 347
CHAPTER a.l
MOTHER MCLOUGLIN OF ST. HENRY AND MOTHER DOUGHERTY
OF 8ST. AUGUSTINE
PIONEERS OF ENGLISH EDUCATION IN THE CONVENT
The two candidates for the religious life, Miss Mary Louisa
McLoughlin and Miss Elizabeth Dougherty.—Their early
life.—Their vocation.—Their teaching.—Mother St. Henry
characterized._Services she renders the community.—
PROD GOR csi inenes ceive densdan seus sacbday eh Céne¥ ose dives sderpedeescvise BOF
CHAPTER XIII
SISTER NOVICES OF MOTHERS ST. HENRY AND ST. AUGUSTINE
The Novitiate—Mother La Ferriére of St. Mary.—Mother
Elizabeth Blais of St. Monica.—Mothers St. Paul, St. Anne
and St. Anthony.—The twin-sisters St. Gertrude and St.
Catharine.—Mothers St. Helen and St. Athanasius........... 364
XXII CONTENTS
: CHAPTER XIV
CONVENT EDUCATION SINCE 1800
PAGES.
Impetus given to studies in 1800.—Boarders and half-boarders
united.—Irish class in the Day-School organized.— Able
teachers.—Mother Cecilia O’Conway of the Incarnation.
—New classrooms provided. Father Maguire appointed
chaplain. — Rev. P. Turgeon Superior.— Friendliness of
the English Governors and their families.—Members of
the Legislature admitted to visit the Convent. — Public
examinations.—Programme of studies in 1839....sec0e0 eee. 369
CHAPTOR XV
THE OLD BELFRY—THE CONVENT BELLS
Scene within the Convent grounds.—Hiistory of the Convent
bells.—The old French cross. enter’ of the garden and
the Convent buildings............ssssssrecccsersceesvessceserescoeees GOL
CHAPTER XVI
FATHER JEAN DENIS DAULE
RESIDENCE OF THE CHAPLAIN OF THE URSULINES
Chaplains of the Monastery since 1780.—First resident chaplain.
—Father Jean Denis Daulé.—Means to promote the piety
of the pupils.—The good tather’s favorite instrument.—His
Golden Jubilee of priesthood.—His last Visit......... ses. 388
CHAPTER XVII
A FAMILY OF JUBILARIANS SPEEDILY REUNITED
MOTHERS ST. BERNARD AND ST. JACQUES
Four anniversaries.—Golden Jubilee of Mother St. Jacques.—
The entertainment in the new hall St. Ursula. — Death
of Bishop Panet.._Deaths of Mothers St. Bernard and St.
Jacques and Reverend Jacqg:ies Panet...cceccceceeseeee ove coves B92
CHAPTER XVIIT
, THE MONASTERY NARROWLY ESCAPES A TOTAL CONFLAGRATION
- 12th Jan. 1834.—Alarm of fire.—The rescue.—The crisis—
Danger is over.—Scene at seven o’clock in the morning.—
The fire-engine that wins the prize—Masses in thanks-
giving.—Kindness of friends. —Card of thanks........0...00000 396
CONTENTS XXIII
CHAPTER XIX
THE TRIPLE FESTIVAL OJ JULY ]2tH
PAGES,
Féle of the Superior Mother St. Henry.—60th anniversary of
Mother Amable Dubé of St. Ignatius. — Baptism of a
neophyte.—The mid-day repast in the old refectory.......... 403
CHAPTER XX
THE 2ZOOTH ANNIVERSARY
Preparations, the chape!, the day.—Absence of the Indians.—
Causes of thanksgiving—List of the Superiors trom 1739 to
1839.— List of professed ntins in 1839.......cesccseeseeceeesesseees 407
CHAPTER XXI
PATRONS AND PATRONESSES
St. Ursula.—St. Angela.—Foundution of the Order of the
Ursulines ;—its extent at the present day .........00. ssesceeeee 413
ILLUSTRATIONS
1,—-Portrait of Venerable Mother of the Incarnation,
facing the title page.
2.—Ursuline Convent of Tours, France, facing page
3.—Portrait of Madame de la Peltrie, “
4.—First Ursuline Convent, G
5.—The Monastery enlarged, ie
§.—The Historical Convent of 1759, “
Sg Siege ick creed A ae a
POE SO a De aes
GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
BOOk I
THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS
CHAPTER I
FROM THE PRESENT TO THE PAST
INTRODUCTORY
Among the many tourists who, during the course of the
sumuiner season, stroll through the winding streets of the old
city of Quebec, so unlike any other city on the 4.nerican con-
tinent, not a few, with guide-book in hand, pause before the
gate-way and grass-plot which front the entrance to the Ursu-
line Convent. Comparing the aspect of the buildings before
them with the picture they have formed of it in their mind,
they hesitate to recognize that time-honored Institution, dating
from 1639, which is said to cover a large space in the centre
of the city. The disappointed traveller will perhaps seek
another point of view, and should he gain access to one of
the fine dwellings to the right hand, on St, Louis street, or to
the stately residences on St. Ann’s, he will perceive that the
2 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
whole square formed by these streets, constitutes the cloistered
ground from which his footsteps are debarred.
The guide-book can take him no further. Therefore we
here offer a brief account of the foundation of the Convent,
its chief vicissitudes during two hundred and fifty years,
with some notice of the lives and labors of the nuns who
have succeeded each other here during that space of time.
These, and other kindred topics will not fail to interest the
intelligent tourist, whether he hail from Albion’s famous isle,
or from the nearer land where waves the Star-spangled
Banner.
Other readers, besides the traveller, will be attracied by
these records of the past which, to many, will be as new and.
strange as tales from an unknown land.
INSTRUCTION NEEDED IN NEW FRANCE
A glance at the history of Canada, at the period of the
foundation of the monastery, 1639, will show the opportune-
ness of the undertaking and its urgency for the prosperity
~ of the colony.
Thirty years had elapsed since the attempt had been made
to fix a permanent settlement upon the shores of the St.
Lawrence. With no other neighbors for thousand of miles
than savage hordes, the little Colony founded in 1608 would
have been, for twenty years, merely a central post for the
fur-traders, had it not been, above all, a refuge and a rallying
point for the missions,
The illustrious founder of Quebec had mainly in view,
“ to plant, in this country, the standard of the Cross, to teach
the knowledge of God and the Glory of His Name, desiring
to increase charity for His creatures,” Hence, while provicing
for the spiritual welfare of his own people, he had not failed
INSTRUCTION NEEDED IN NEW FRANCE 3
to invite missionaries to come and labor for the conversion
of the pagan Indians,
The call was accepted by the sons of St. Francis, as early
as 1615, Ten years later, came the Jesuit missionaries, to
share the labors, the perils, and the merits of the Recollets,
In 1629, the little Fort of Quebec was beleaguered, at once,
by famine and by a hostile fleet. It was not a Strasbourg,
surrendering with its army 300,000 strong. It was simply
the capture of about fifty people, but it annihilated, at one
blow, the fruit of twenty years’ labor and hardships, depriving
the French monarch of his only foothold on the American
continent, and plunging the poor Indian anew into the pagan
darkness from which he was beginning to emerge.
Fortunately, the fleet, which three years later brought back
the fleur de lis, bore a more numerous colony than had been
carried away. It restored also the missionary to his glorious
toils,
The new colonists were not mere traders, They came
provided with implements of agriculture ; a few had brought
their families to make this distant shore their home, The
powerful Company of the Hundred Associates, moreover,
was pledged to increase the number of immigrants to four
thousand before the end of ten years,
Such was the prospect the noble and devoted Champlain
was given to contemplate, before closing his eyes upon the
scenes of his long and arduous labors. His death, on Christ-
mas day, 1635, filled with mourning his own countrymen,
wherever they were scattered throughout the land, The
Indians also, wept the kind hearted governor whom they
regarded with reverence and affection,
Another year brought, as governor of New France, the
gallant de Montmagny, who continued the plans of his illus-
trious predecessor. In his company, besides his officers and
4 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
soldiers, were two noble families, Le Gardeur de Repentigny
and Le Neuf, comprising forty-five persons, with artisans
and laborers, giving to the infant city a population of nearly
two hundred souls.
The fort was now enlarged, and partly built of stone;
the streets of the city were traced. The Jesuit mission-house
having received reinforcements, a residence was established
also at Three Rivers, where already the fur-traders had their
post, frequented by the Indian hunters, Another mission-
house was built in the distant country of the Hurons, and
there, in the mids’ of } e1secutors, was a little band of faith-
ful converts, . The wandering Algonquin and Montagnais !,
more docile than the Hurons, wherever they had met the
missionary, had received with joy the tidings of salvation.
New interest in the success of the missions and the wel-
fare ot the colonists was awakened in France by the publica-
tion of the Relutions, in which the holy missionaries made
known the wonderful effects of grace in these new Christians,
as well asthe ardor of their own longings to shed their blood
for the cause of God.
Princes and prelates, courtiers and ladies, as well as persons
in the humbler walks of life, vied with each other, in raising
funds for the missions and other charitable purposes, One
- of these pious donations provided for the establishment of the
- converted Algonquins and Montagnais, on the model of the
1— North of the St. Lawrence wandered various tribes of the
. Algonquin type: the Montagnais, the Algonquins and the Nipissings.
Maine was occupied by the Abenakis ; Gaspé and New Brunswick,
» by the Micmacs. The Ilurons inhabited the peninsula formed by
. Lake Huron, the river Severn, and Lake Simcoe,
All these tribes were gained to the faith within the lifetime of
. the first missionaries.
_The Iroquois occupied the centre of New York.
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‘ THE WAYS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE 5
Reductions of Paraguay. Thus was commenced, in 1637 },
the Christian village of Sillery.
There, at only four miles’ distance from Quebec, were little
Indian girls waiting to be instructed, Other little French
maidens were growing up among the settlers, within and
around the city. It is easy to imagine with what anxiety
pious fathers and mothers looked upon their daughters, for
whom it was impossible to procure the advantages of educa-
tion and instruction. For their sons, these precious advan-
tages were to be found in the college of the Jesuits, opened
in 1635,
Had Divine Providence, while providing for the bird
unfledged, rocking in its little nest, forgotten the birdlings of
a Christian home? If left without intellectual and moral
culture, would not the descendants of European civilization
sink to the level of the degraded beings around them, and
became perhaps more savage than the natives themselves ?
But Providence had not forgotten the little ones in New
France, as we shall soon see. *
CHAPTER II
THE WAYS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE
Far from these vast regions where the fearless missiona-
ries labored, away in central France, the old city of Tours
lay quivering in the sunlight of an April morning, It is not
1—By Noél Brélart de Sillery, Prime Minister of Louis XIII.
6 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
to the bright fields, the vine-clad hills, the pleasant thickets
of mulberry-trees, that we shall direct our gaze ; but to the
cloistered garden-walks of the Ursuline Monastery, along
which one of the sisterhood glides, with joyous step, hastening
to visit a favorite shrine, “ the Hermitage of St. Joseph '.”
In this sacred spot we might recognize one whose name is
now familiar to thousands on both sides of the Atlan-
tic. It was Mother Mary of the Incarnation, for whom
St. Joseph had procured an immense favor, An interior
assurance had been granted her that the moment for the
. accomplishment of the will of God in her regard was at hand.
The long years of waiting are nearly over; the “ precious
crosses of Canada,” which will soon be hers, promise her
“the delights of Paradise,” because there she will have an
opportunity of winning souls to God.
Perhaps there are none of our readers who have not heard
something of the history of this remarkable woman—the
foundress of the first institution for the instruction of female
youth on our continent; the first, also, whose name, from
this Northern America, has been carried to Rome, to be in-
scribed as a candidate for the highest honors which the Church
can bestow upon her most faithful children,
Born in 1599, of a family, not wealthy, but distinguished
for probity and virtue, Marie Guyart had the advantage of a
solid and pious education, and from her earliest years, her
1—This garden-chapel, solidly built of stone, still exists, and has
been visited of late years by travellers from Canada, among others
by Mr. Ernest Gagnon, secretary of Public Works. To his kindness
we are indebted for the irteresting photographic views of the
monastery of the Ursulines, the Hermitage, or chapel of St. Joseph
and the paternal mansion in which our Venerable Mother Mary
Guyart de |’Incarnation was born.
This monastery, from which the Ursulines of Tours were driven
by the Revolution of 1793, is now a Catholic college.
THE WAYS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE 7
soul was the recipient of heavenly favors, The piety and
innocence of her youth, the trials that attended her during
the two years of her married life, the admirable virtues she
practised during her widowhood, while bringing up her infant
son—the only tie that retained her in the world,—these
would form the headings of as many chapters, replete with
interest and edification.
At length, after devoting twelve years to the training and
education of her son, she confided him to her sister’s care,
and entered the cloister. These years of probation had been
to her the narrow, thorny path, leading to the mountain-
heights of sanctity. She had practised the counsels of evan-
gelical perfection before pronouncing the solemn vows as
a religious. She had attained that sublime state, which
St. Paul describes of himself: ‘ Henceforth I live, yet not
I, but Jesus Christ liveth in me,”
The interests of God had become hers; the extension of
the Kingdom of His Divine Son, her only and ardent desire.
The conversion of the heathen, throughout the universe, was
the continual object of her supplications.
Not long after her admission into the Community, one
Christmas-tide (it was in 1631), her future course was
mysteriously shadowed forth in a dream, which made a deep
impression upon her mind, Through a dark and perilous
way, she groped, hand in hand, with a lady whose counten-
ance was unknown to her, A venerable personage directed
the travellers by a motion of the hand, and they entered a
spacious court, enclosed by the buildings of a monastery.
The pavement was of white marble, intersected by lines of
vermilion, Over all this place, seemed to brood the spirit
of stillness and peace, On one side rose a chapel of purest
alabaster, upon the summit of which, as upon a throne, was
seated the Virgin with the Divine Infant. All around
Ss SS SS Oe -
8 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
extended a desolate country, covered with fogs and beset
with mountains and precipices, In the midst of these gloomy
wastes, the spire and gable-end of a little church could be
perceived, just visible above the fogs, The Virgin looked
with sadness on the dismal scene, and as Mary of the Incar-
nation, longing to be nearer, pressed forward close to her seat,
the sweet Mother of Mercy turned towards her with a smile
of welcome, and gently bending down, embraced her. Then
she seemed to whisper some message to the Divine Infant,
that concerned Mother Mary and the salvation of souls,
The words had not been heard, but, on awaking, she knew
the purport of that secret message, and her heart, filled with
ineffable consolation, burned more than ever for the conver-
sion of pagan nations,
A year later, the same scene was represented to her, attended
by an interior call to devote herself to found a monastery of
her Order in Canada, Henceforth, while praying for all the
benighted nations of the earth, it is in particular for the poor
Indians of the New World that her zeal is enkindled, Many
times each day, with pressing supplications she pleads for
souls, through the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and still she
seems to hear our Lord’s bidding : “ Go to Canada, and there,
build a house to Jesus and Mary.” There, the light of the
Gospel was indeed just beginning to dispel the darkness
which through long ages had covered the land.
About this time the Relations which the Jesuit missionaries
in New France had begun to publish in 1632, found their
way to the monastery, and helped to fan the flame.
How the Almighty had provided for the accomplishment of
His designs, we must now relate.
In another distant part of France, near the little town of
Alencon, in Normandy, stood the castle of the Seigneur of
Vaubougon, the ancestral home of Madeleine de Chauvigny,
THE WAYS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE 9
better known by the name of Madame de la Peltrie, Like
Mother Mary of the Incarnation, Madeleine, engaged once
in the married state through pure compliance with the will
of her parents, constantly refused, when these ties were
broken, to contract a second engagement. The piety of her
early years had been remarkable, As a widow she proved
her love of God by the practice of exterior works of charity,
bestowing alms, lodging and serving the poor, visiting and
comforting the sick and the unfortunate. To her also, the
Relations, particularly that of 1635, brought a ray of light
to direct her future course,
There she had read these moving words: “ Alas! were
the superfluous wealth of some of the ladies of France
employed to further the conversion of these poor Indians,
what blessings would they not draw down upon their own
families ! What a glorious thing it would be in the sight of
Heaven to gather up the precious drops of the blood of Jesus
and apply them to the souls of these poor heathens ! ”
How many hearts that thrilled on reading this vehement
appeal, turned as soon to some trivial pursuit, giving no
further heed to the voice of grace! Not so Madeleine. A high
and noble purpose filled her soul, while it overwhelmed her
with the impression of her own unworthiness.—Yes, she
would go to that heathen land ; she would aid in gathering
up the precious Blood of Jesus !
Before she had taken any step towards the accomplish-
ment of her pious project, she fell dangerously ill, and soon
her life was despaired of. In this extremity, she made a
solemn vow to go to Canada, and to found, in honor of St.
Joseph, a monastery of Ursulines for the instruction of the
little Indian and French girls.
Suddenly she rose, from the brink of the grave, to perfect
health !
10 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Many difficulties remained to be overcome. Family inte-
rests were at stake, and family ties formed impediments.
Legal proceedings having failed to procure her arrest, those
who coveted the wealth she was giving to good works, were
fully determined to deprive her of her liberty in order to
obtain it. Through zeal for the missions of Canada, a gentle-
man of Caen, M. de Berniéres, consented to aid Madame de
la Peltrie in this difficult conjuncture, to protect her and
forward the holy but hazardous enterprise }.
A journey to Paris enabled the pious lady to consult
Father Condren, General of the Oratory, and St. Vincent of
Paul. Both these eminent men approved of the noble under-
taking and encouraged her to hope for success.
It remained to obtain auns for the proposed foundation,
Madame de la Peltrie sought the advice of Father Poncet,
who was charged with the missions of Canada, From him,
to her great joy, she learned the particulars of the vocation
of Mother Mary of the Incarnation.
Not many weeks later, Madame de la Peltrie was at Tours,
negotiating the affair with the archbishop. Admitted into
the monastery, Mother Mary recognized, in the stranger, the
companion with whom, in that mysterious dream, eight years
before, she had toiled along a dangerous path, through an
unknown, desert land.
Tt was necessary to choose a companion for Mother Mary ;
this was equally overruled by Providence, Not one in that
fervent community would have shrunk from the proposed
sacrifice ; all were even anxious, to obtain the nomination,
1—M. de Beruiéres remained the devoted friend of the Ursu-
lines, taking charge of their affairs in France with a kindness worthy
of the highes: praise.
THE WAYS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE 11
One alone, in her humility, judged herself unworthy to aspire
to such a distinction: yet she was the chosen one, Of
gentle mien and delicate health, the youthful and accom-
plished Marie de la Troche de St. Bernard, was of the noble
blood of the de Savonniéres. Her vocation to a religious life
at the early age of fourteen, had already cost her parents an
immense sacrifice. How was she to obtain either their con-
sent, or that of hercommunity ? When God wills, He provides
the means of accomplishing His Holy will; thus it proved
in the case of Mlle de la Troche.
Attributing the unlooked-for success to the protection of
St. Joseph, to whom she had confided all her hopes, Mother
St. Bernard exchanged her name for that of Mother St.
Joseph, by which she will be known in the following pages.
It remained to regulate the temporal affairs of the pro-
jected foundation, and to receive the Archbishop’s blessing,
with their “ obediences, ” or episcopal authorization.
The assembly was held in the Archbishop’s palace. The
venerable Prelate, then eighty years of age, was profoundly
moved. When the moment of parting came, he arose, and
presenting the two religious to Madame de la Peltrie, addressed
her in these remarkable words :
“ Behold the two corner-stones of the temple you are
about to erect in the New World to glorify the Almighty. I
entrust them to you for this end, conformably to your request.
May they be two precious gems in the foundation, like those
inthe heavenly Jerusalem. May this edifice be a mansion
of peace, of grace, and heavenly blessings, more abundant,
than those of the ancient Temple of Solomon. May the efforts
of hell never prevail against it, no more than against the
Holy Church itself. And since this House is to be built for
God, may He fix His dwelling there, as the Father and as
the Spouse, not only of the nuns I confide to you, but of all
12 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
who may accompany them, or who will live there after them,
to the end of time.”
These solemn words, the fareweli blessing, the last will
and testament, as it were, of the aged prelate, are never read
without emotion by the daughters of Mother Mary of the
Incarnation, who would fain believe them to be a prophecy.
A last adieu to their dear monastery, to thei beloved
Mothers and Sisters, and their long journey commences.
In Paris they form an acquaintance with the Ursulines
of the great city, who were destined later to lend them
efficient aid.
The Queen, Anne of Austria, the Duchesses d’Aiguillon and
de Brienne, as well as many other high-born ladies, mani-
fested their interest in the future benefactresses of the poor
Indians of Canada, bestowing gifts and pious donations to
forward the good work.
At Dieppe, in another convent of Ursulines, the missionary
spirit has been imparted to Mother Cécile Richer de la Croix,
who seems, like another Matthew, to have risen at the first
a sound of the Divine Master’s v ice, ready to follow Him,
i even to the ends of the earth.
i The merchant-ships, bound for Canada, had taken in their
i freight: dry goods, implements of labor, live-stock, seed,
tI salt meat—a miscellaneous assortment—and were only
waiting now for a favorable breeze. Among the expected
passengers were three nuns! from the Hospital in Dieppe,
who under the high patronage of the Duchess d’Aiguillon,
were going to Quebec to found a house of their order,
{ There were also the Jesuit Fathers, Vimont, Pinet, and Chau-
1—Mother Marie Guenet de St. Ignace, Anne le Cointre de
St. Bernard, and Marie Forestier de St. Bonaventure.
ARRIVAL OF THE URSULINES IN CANADA 13
monot, for the missions ; and now, at the latest hour—an
unexpected reinforcement—appeared Madame de la Peltrie
and the three Ursulines,
On the 4th of May, all being in readiness and the wind
favorable, our voyages embarked. Three long months with
no other horizon but the mingling seq, and sky, no other
landscape but the placid waters or the tossing billows; such
is their prospect, at best. Before they quit the Channel,
they are rocked till all are sea-sick ; they barely escape
being shipwrecked ; but that is nothing. “ Their hearts
are in peace, because they are fully abandoned to God.”
Who would not wish them God-speed on their long and
perilous voyage ?
CHAPTER III
1639
ARRIVAL OF THE URSULIY 68 IN CANADA
It was mid-summer, when the little fleet which had lost
sight of the coasts of France in May, anchored, at last, in the
harbor of Tadoussac, at the confluence of the Saguenay with
the St. Lawrence, Onur travellers, no doubt, were struck
with the stern and savage grandeur of the scenery: the black
impending cliffs, rising perpendicularly, and forming a gigan-
tic gute-way, through which the dark waters of the Saguenay
issue—a fathomless fiood—sublimely reminding the specta-
tor of lovg ages past, and terrible convulsions of nature since
her birth,
The dense, lonely forests were unbroken, save by the curl-
14 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
ing smoke of the wigwam-fire, or the rude sheds of the
trading-station. Strange, too, and wild, were these swarthy
hunters,’the Algonquins and Montagnais, who had come,
bringing their furs, the skin of the beaver, the seal and
marten, to exchange for blankets, kettles, knives, and other
European commodities,
The poor Indian looked with amazement on these “ daugh-
ters of Sachems” who, he was told, had left their homes
beyond the Great Sea, to teach the wives and daughters of
the red man how to avoid the flames of another world,
Impatient to reach their destination, the passengers leave
their ship, the Admiral, to its traffic, and in a smaller vessel
press onwards towards Quebec, The natives, swift of foot,
follow along the solitary shores, unwilling to lose sight of a
spectacle so new and‘wonderful. The last day of July is near
its close, when, turning the eastern point of the Isle of Orleans,
the semicircle of the northern shore opens before them in all
the loveliness of a summer sunset, varying its beauties from
the abrupt promontory, the term of their voyage, to the low
banks where the St. Charles brings in its tribute: the plea-
sant beach, adorned with woodland scenery, the little rustic
village of Beauport, peeping through the trees, the precipitous
ledge over which the Montmorency casts its sheet of foam.
Of all this, the slumbering river had a picture in its bosom.
Our voyagers had another in their souls, a picture of all they
fain would do and suffer for this Land of Promise.
It was decided not to enter the port of Quebec that night,
and, a little bay! presenting itself on the pleasant wooded
Island, they resolved to go on shore. How refreshing to the
1—The Island of Orleans was, at that date, uninhabited. The
little bay was, apparently, that now called l' Anse du Fort.
ARRIVAL OF THE URSULINES IN CANADA 15
sea-faring voyagers is the cool, forest breeze, laden with sweet
odors! How delightful this evening sceae, where every feature
‘is novel and grand! But of this our travellers take no note.
They have only told us how they lodged in cabins, constructed
by the sailors in Indian style. A wigwam was their hotel
for that first night on shore, in the New World. Then with
what joy their hearts were filled to see themselves under
these “ grand old forests” which they made resound with
“ hymns to God! ”
During the evening, news of the bivouac on the point of
the Island reached the fort of Quebec. At early dawn—it
was the first of August—the booming cannon from the heights
of Cape Diamond announced the arrival of this fresh body
of recruits for the Colony. The Governor’s yacht, sent out to
honor the missionary band, was seen returning with flying
colors,
While the strangers approach, let us with them view the
scene,
Before us towers the bold promontory, crowned with military
works. At the base of the cliffs, is a cluster of store-houses,
sheds, and other wooden tenements, set down in the midst of
fir-trees, sumachs, and aspens. Further on, the strand is
studded with Indian encampments.
The first sound of the cannon has brought out the swarthy
forms of the Huron traders. Some rush to the water’s edge
and launch their light canoes ; others are grouped in various
attitudes along the shore. Another flourish of military music,
and the beach is thronged with all the population of the city.
The Governor, in plumed hat and scarlet, embroidered
coat, leads the central group. It is the gallant Charles Huault
de Montmagny, with his suite, all in brilliant uniform,
his Lieutenant de Lisle, his secretary Piraube, his friends
St. Jean de Repentigny, de Tilly, La Potherie, du Herisson,
16 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Juchereau des Chatelets, the factor of the fur company, The
Jesuit Fathers are there in their clerical costume. Gentle-
women mingle with the officials, and with the other groups of
citizens. More numerous than all are the crowd of workmen,
artisans, and clerks, who have leave to suspend their labors
for the day, and who join the squad of soldiers in their noisy
demonstrations, while perched on every rock along the moun-
tain path, are other Indian braves, the villagers of Sillery.
The yacht has neared the shore. Our missionary nuns, on
landing, fall prostrate, and kiss the soil of their adopted
country, embracing, in their hearts, all the crosses it may
bring forth,
The introductions over, the pious cortege moves on, climb-
ing the zigzag pathway up the steep, now known as Moun-
tain Hill.
At the top of the hill, to the left, is the little chapel of our
Lady of Recovery 1. There, the Holy Sacrifice is offered by
the Father Superior of the missions; it is followed by
the Te Deum, The emotions of this pious assembly, we shall
not attempt to penetrate. They could only be fully known to
Him, whose grace had inspired the heroic undertaking and
whose love was the source of the sympathy it excited in these
congenial souls,
The rites of hospitality reunited the dlite of the company
with the strangers, at the castle. Wé have no further details
of this first day. All the French families had a right to an
introduction. The nuns must have noticed the Héberts, the
Couillards, the de Puiseaux ; perhaps also, the Seigneur of
Beauport 2, Giffard.
1—Notre-Dame de la Recouvrance, built By Champlain in 1632,
in fulfilment of a vow he had made while retained in France.
2M. Gittard had obtained the Seigniory of Beauport, and, in 1634,
seven families had arrived there as tenants.
ARRIVAL OF THE URSULINES IN CANADA 17
The next scene recorded in the old volumes which have
guided us thus far, is a visit, on the day following, to the
Indian hamlet of Sillery. The Ursulines and the Hospital-
lers, conducted by Father Le Jeune, proceed first through the
“ Grande Allée, ” bordered in nearly all its length with fine
old forest-trees, Birds of new song and plumage, flowers of
unknown forms, but chiefly conversation on the prospects
of the mission, diversified the way.
The hamlet was enclosed by a palisade, as a sort of fortifi-
cation, The gateway, thrown open, discloses the life and man-
ners of barbarism, just softened by a touch of civilization and
purified by Christianity.
The Reduction consists of some fifteen families, their habita-
tions varying from the primitive rudeness of the Algonquin
wigwam to the substantial stone hut. A chapel, a mission-
house for the priest, and an infirmary, or hospital, occupy the
centre of the village.
At sight of the nuns clad in their peculiar costume, the
poor squaws gather up their little papooses and seem ready
to flee to the woods with them ; the older red-skinned urchins
stop their wild play and huddle together ; but at a motion
from the good priest whom they all know, they gather round
and soon forget their sudden alarm. When told that these
“daughters of Captains ” had left their happy homes in
France, to come and teach them more about the Blessed Jesus,
or to serve them in their sickness, their wonder and admira-
tion were unbounded, Not less profound was the joy, the
affection with which the good nuns looked upon these children
of the forest, whose spiritual welfare was henceforth to be
the end of all their labors,
‘Not a little Indian girl appeared, but Ma lame de la Peltrie
pressed her to her bosom and kissed her with a mother’s
9
18 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
re . onan = ee ~
fondness, unmindful of much that might have created disgust.
The nuns were not less moved, and gathered round them
with the aid of their good conductor, several of the little half-
clothed children to be their future pupils. They next visit
the chapel and hear the voices of the good Indians singing :
“T believe in God, the Almighty Creator; I believe in
Jesus Christ our Lord.” Hymns too, in a language that
seemed like the chattering and twittering of birds ; but the
nuns knew they were singing of Jesus; that was enough
to move them to tears of devotion, Father Le Jeune announ-
ces that there is a neophyte to be baptized. Must not
Madame de la Peltrie be the godmother ?
The visit over, the good Hospital Sisters and the Ursulines
embraced each other for a final adieu. The two Orders had
formed one community for the last three months, while the
ship was their monastery and the Ocean their cloister. Now,
their respective avocations require them to separate ; still
living and laboring for the same end, the glory of God and
the salvation of souls.
The Hospital Sisters find a comfortable dwelling-house in
the Upper Town, near the Fort, to shelter them until their
monastery, already commenced, will be ready to receive them,
As to the Ursulines, they have the loan of a small building
on the wharf, ! preferable, certainly, to an Indian wigwam
in which, however, Mother Mary of the Incarnation declared,
for her part, she was prepared to lodge.
1~.On the market-place, facing the Lower Town Church of N, D.
des Victoires.
THE LABOR OF THREE YEARS 19
CHAPTER IV
1639 - 1642
THE LABOR OF THREE YEARS
The departure of the French fleet from the harbor of Quebec
early in autumn, left the colonists to their seclusion, severing
their last link with the mother country, for the next six or
eight months, The Huron traders also had rolled up their
bark houses and launched their light flotilla, leaving the
strand to its wonted tranquillity.
Our Ursulines are already laboring “ according to their
institute, ” for the French pupils ; at the same time they are
tasking their energies to the utmost to acquire the Indian
languages, They have an able and willing teacher in Father
Le Jeune, who has become so learned only at the expense
of hard labor and many months of forest-life with the savage
hunters, The young seminarists, also, are efficient aids, one
especially, who having lived near the trading-post of Three
Rivers, has quite a vocabulary of French words which she
can translate into Algonquin.
But our readers have not yet seen the interior of that little
Convent, “ the Louvre”, as the nuns facetiously named it.
This palace consists’ of two rooms, one sixteen feet square, the
other of smaller dimensions, with a garret anda cellar. The
arrangements need to be economical, The larger room serves
as a dormitory, the beds being arranged along the wall in
tiers ; it is, at the same time, parlor, kitchen, refectory, recrea-
tion-room, and choir.
The smaller apartment is a class-room. An additional
wing, a sort of shed, serves as an exterior parlor. where,
20 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
through the prescribed grating, the nuns may speak of God
to brave chiefs and warriors of the Indian race,
The colonists, fortunately, have invented an “ order of archi-
tecture,” which is not expensive: a few strong posts set in
the ground, some bars to join them, the whole covered with
planks and finished off with rough plastering. A chapel in
this style, before the winter closes in, is raised, and receives
the “ gilded tabernacle,” the parting gift of a Parisian friend,
It isa delightful “ devout chapel ”, so one affirms who saw it 1;
“ agreeable for its poverty,” aud above all, precious to the good
Ursulines and their pious foundress, for the Adorable Presence
which it procures them, ‘The cloister-wall, enclosing a large
space, is formed ly a palisade, and by the solid barrier of the
mountain, plentifully decked at its base and at various heights,
with shrubbery, wild vines, und flowers. Within this cloi-
stered tract, they set up a sort of rustic arbor, on the plan of a
Huron lodge, to serve as another class-room for Indian women
and children,
All these accommodations are of a nature to suggest:
thoughts of the contrast between a poor hut in Canada, and
. the elegant lordly castles of Savonuiéres and de Vaubougon,
or even the spacious monasteries of Dieppe and Tours, But
Canada is to them an earthly Paradise, and if they have
anything to complain of, it is that they have not enough to
suffer, Thus they wrote to their friends, even after that
terrible scourge, the small-pox, had transformed their school-
room and the dormitory into a hospital.
Already, three years before the arrival of the nuns, a sort
of pestilence had spread terror and desolation among the
1—Mother St. Clare mentions it thus in a charming letter to her
‘community in Paris, after her arrival in Canada.
THE LABOR OF THREE YEARS 21
Indian tribes, This year, soon after the departure of the
trading vessels, the small-pox, inits most virulent form, made
its appearance at Sillery,
The little convent in the Lower Town was, in its turn,
invaded by the malady, which attacked the Indian children
only, All the seminarists—as the Indian boarders were
called—caught the infection, affording the nuns abundant
occasion for the exercise of charity. The beds of the patients,
placed upon the floor, left hardly room to move among them,
Night and day the poor little sufferers were tended by their
indefatigable nurses, Four died of it before mid-winter, after
which its intensity diminished, At the end of February, it
had entirely disappeared ; but not until the stock of clothing
destined to the use of the Indian children for two years was
exhausted, as well as the provision of linen for the community,
Throughout this trial, the nuns kept up their spirits and
their health, Their only anxiety was, lest the pagan Indians
believing the sickness to be the effects of baptism, should
refuse to send them their children, In this they were happily
deceived, With the cessation of the malady, the nuns
found more congenial occupation, instructing Indian women
and girls, The men also frequently appeared at the grating
and listened to their teachings with as much docility as the
children, Their seminarists increased to eighteen or twenty.
Two French pupils were even then boarding in the little
convent, The number of day-scholars is not stated, but it
included “ all who were of an age to be instructed.” When
the warm season returned, the bark cabin become a class-
room ; and, from the surrounding shrubbery, came fresh air,
and sweet songs, mingling with the cadence of the waters
plashing upon the beach.
In July, the annual fleet brought them Mothers St, Atha-
nasius and St. Clare from the Ursuline Monastery of Paris
22 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
to aid them in their arduous labors, The latter, writing to
her community soon after her arrival, describes her new home,
where they “ live in admirable peace and union,” Mother
Mary of the Incarnation, she says, “treats me with too much
honor; the sweet odor of sanctity seems to surround her, and
t» embalm all who approach her, Mother St. Joseph is a
charming person, most accomplished in every way, During
recreation she often makes us laugh till we cry: it is impos-
sible to be melancholy in her company. She loves the little
Indian girls like a mother, After catechism, she teaches
them to sing hymns and to play the viol.
‘Sometimes she gives them leave to perform one of their
own pantomime dances, and the little scholars make no cere-
mony of inviting Madame de la Peltrie to dance with them,
which she does with the best grace in the world,”
The two Parisians commence studying the Indian language
with courage, remarking that the other nuns are “ well
advanced.” They have to learn “ the grammar and write
exercises, like students in Latin.” Two languages, at least,
are required ; the Algonquin, and the Huron!, All are busy,
and all are happy in that little convent, where the love of
God reigns supreme.
The Ursulines had indeed come to the colony at an oppor-
tune moment. The field in which the good missionaries labored
long with little success, had now begun to yield fruit, Our
Mothers considered themselves supremely happy in being
called to aid in gathering in the precious harvest.
The difficulties of the situation were however great. The
1—The Algonquin and the Huron are the mother tongues of a
hundred tribes who wandered over the North American continent,
between the sources of the Mississippi and the Atiantic as far as the
coast of North Carolina.
THE LABOR OF THREE YEARS 23
revenue of the foundress was only nine hundred livres ; a
larger sum had been expended on the lodgings, such as they
were, in the Lower Town, and on the seminarists, Madame
de la Peltrie had calculated for the expenses of six; but they
had taken in three times that number, It must be borne in
mind that not only the Indian pupils, but sometimes their
families, had to be fed and clothed gratis, At the parlor,
where the nuns exercised their zeal in favor of the Indian
wen, it was not merely the bread of instruction that was
broken: according to the Indian laws of hospitality, the food
of the body was indispensable, It would have been an affront
to send away a guest without offering him to eat, The “ pot
of sagamité” must be constantly on the fire, From time to
time, a more “ splendid banquet ” was prepared for sixty or
eighty persons. Then it required “ a bushel of black plums,
twenty-four pounds of bread, a due quantity of Indian-meal
or ground peas, a dozen of tallow candles melted, two or
three pounds of fat pork ”, all well boiled together, “It would
be a pity, says our judicious Mother, to deprive these poor
people of such a feast, since it requires no more to content
even their sachems and war-chiefs, that is to say, their
princes,”
But if the revenue of the foundation was insufficient, cha-
rity, in those times, was not an idle word, Pious friends in
France, moved by the letters of the nuns, sent them presents :
clothing for their seminarists, tools for their workmen, a
chalice for their altar, The good Ursulines of Paris and of
Tours are aiways first on the list of benefactresses.
In the Relations, also, the Fathers set forth the poverty of
the little convent, and the good the nuns were doing, Father
Vimont laments that they have not the means to build, and
invites in his amiable manner, “two courageous young ladies
provided with a good dowry, to come to the assistance of the
ee ee
24 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
little convent, which contains more joy within its narrow
limits than ever was found in the palace of the Ceesars !”
In the spring uf 1641, Madame de la Peltrie laid the foun-
dation-stone of the monastery, on the advantageous site granted
by the Governor, in the name of the Hundred Associates.
The deed specified that the donation ! of “ six arpents of land
within the limits of the city of Quebec, was to enable the said
Reverend Ursuline Mothers to build a convent where they
may live according to the rules of their institute, and devote
themselves to the education of young girls, French? and
Indian.”
While the building was going on, the number of their ud
seminarists amounted to forty-eight or fifty ; the parlor visits a
exceeded eight hundred in the course of one year. i
Mother Mary of the Incarnation, with all her zeal, confesses .
that the nuns, five in number, have had to labor excessively, a
and that the visits of the Indians at the parlor were con- ae
tinual. ‘‘ But, she adds, the providence of our Heavenly a ‘
Father provides for all things. The pot of sagamité was never a :
empty.” 3
Rhee eat
ee ee
1—To this day a mass is said in the Chapel of the Monastery for
the ‘ Messieurs de la Compagnie.”
i 2—From 1639 to 1642 about forty families had settled within some <
fifteen miles of Quebec. ie
en)
~
LTRIK,
*
-K
{ LA |
D
Mme
Foundress of the Ursuline Convent of Quebec,
MADAME DE LA PELTRIE AND THE INDIANS 25
CHAPTER V
1639-1641
MADAME DE LA PELTRIE AND THE INDIANS
In the little convent on the wharf, the “ Louvre” of those
French ladies who inhabited it, were also the good foundress,
and her attendant, Chazlotte Barré. It must have been from
motives of the purest charity and self-denial, that Madame
de la Peltrie resolved to content herself with such accommo-
dations as that poor cottage afforded : all that she could save
by living in poverty would be so much gain for the poor
Indians !
Rut our readers have contemplated long enough the picture
of privations and sufferings. Let us follow the generous
French lady, when she goes abroad, always in the interest of
the dear seminarists, or of the missions in general.
On one of these occasions, an incident occurred which has
been recorded at full length in the Relations (1639).
It was the Feast of the Assumption, only fifteen days
after the nuns had been welcomed to their new home. There
was a grand procession, in which six Indians, in splendid
robes of silk and velvet, lately sent them by the French
monarch, followed the cross and banner. A hundred of their
fur-clad brethren, marching two by two, in the order assigned
them, came after, Next walked Madame de la Peltrie, lead-
ing some of her little seminarists, in new tunics of red camelot,
and white caps; then came a long file of Indian girls and
women, clothed in garments of their own fashion: a frock,
made of a blanket or a moose-skin, falling from the shoulders
to the knee, and fastened around the waist by a girdle, their
ae — e e ae e
SO ET I ee
re a eee
ar
} .
E.
26 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
long black hair simply gathered behind their neck ; necklaces
and bracelets of colored beads completed their attire on this
holiday occasion,
The clergy headed the French population in the usual order,
But it is not of the procession itself that we write. We
shall not follow it from station to station, pausing at the hos-
pital and then at the Ursulines, where the nuns sing the
Exaudiat, and the poor Indians, as usual, wonder and admire.
Neither shall we tell of the dinner given at the Castle toa
hundred of the Indians, while the six, transformed by French
court-dresses into gentlemen—all but their bronzed faces—
were treated as royal guests at the Jesuits’ table.
Our purpose is with what took place after vespers, when
the Superior of the Jesuits was notified that an Indian cuuncil
was awaiting his presence in the College-hall.
Father Le Jeune did not go alone, but invited the Governor,
the newly arrived Father Vimont and Madame de la Peltrie
to take part in the proceedings, Entering, they found Indian
chiefs and notables, to the number of twenty or twenty-five,
seated around the hall, in their own style, on mats they had
provided. The Governor, with Madame de la Peltrie and
Miss Barré on one side, and the two Jesuits on the other,
have taken seats and are waiting.
An Algonquin chief, rising, looks around upon the assembly,
and begins: “ Be attentive, Father Le Jeune; let not’ thy
spirit wander, give heed to my discourse.” ‘ Ho! ho!”
answers the Father, and the Algonquin continues :—“ The
words thou hearest are not mine. I am the mouth of all my
brethren seated here. We wish to believe in God: we wish
to cultivate the ground; but we want help. Now, tell our
great chief Ononthio to write to our king, Let him say: All
the redmen wonder to hear that you think of them, They
say to you: Pity us, send us help, We wish to cultivate the
sits
Le BS sti Rely dake piel 2-9
I Po koe REE TOOT OE ARO ORES
MADAME DE LA PELTRIE AND THE INDIANS 27
ground, We cannot make houses like yours unless you help
us. Father Le Jeune, tell thy brother, who has come to be in
thy place, to write for us, Write thou also, that our king
may believe us, I have spoken.”
The first orator takes his seat, an Abenaki rises and urges
the same suit with much pathos, He concludes: “ Certainly
thou speakest well, promising to help us to live like men.
Do not deceive us, I go to my home, there, where the sun
stands in the middle of the sky (the South). When I come
back, the snow will yet be on the mountains. I will come
to see if thou sayest the truth, if thou hast men to help us,
that we may no more live it “he woods like the beasts.”
This spirited appeal, trans:. by Father Le Jeune, moved
the assembly to compassion, De Montmagny promised to do
all in his power for them, Father Vimont was uigh losing
patience, seeing that for the want of a little money those
poor people were debarred from receiving religious instruction.
Madame de la Peltrie exclaims: “ Alas! must it be said
that we cannot aid these good people to save their souls?
The expense of one ball in Paris, one soirée, would procure
the means of opening heaven to these poor creatures. Reverend
Father, continues she, adressing Le Jeune, tell them that if I
could aid them with my own hands, I would do so. I will
try, at least, to plant something for them,”
Her speech, translated, made the Indian braves smile.
‘‘ Tell the lady, said one, that corn planted by hands as
delicate as hers, would take a long time to ripen.”
The conclusion of the assembly was, that a great effort
s. yuld be made to help the Indians the next spring, according
to their request.
Now for another scene. Let us follow Madame de la
Peltrie, on one of her frequent excursions to Sillery. All the
seminarists accompany her on holiday occasions,
POTN See et
oS oe ; us “
28 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
There she sometimes finds the squaws gathering corn,
which they suspend along the sloping sides of their bark
habitations, till they look gay as if decked for some festal
ceremony; or they are roasting it before the fire, previous
to pounding it in their wooden mortars, Sometimes a family,
just come to live in the hamlet and not yet provided with
any other utensils but those of their own manufacture, cook
a dinner in her presence, kindling a fire by striking two white
stones together ; then, filling a large bark tray or bowl with
water, they heat other stones red-hot and throw them in, till
they have boiled a piece of meat. Perhaps they prefer it
roasted; then they show her a cord made of tender bark or
of hemp, with which they suspend their steak, turning it as
adroitly as the kitchen-maid manages a spit.
If it is a pleasant day when Mudame is there, the little
Indian boys are at play with the bow and arrow, not as
noisy as a similar group of little French boys, but silent as
the braves who listen to a harangue in council, unless some
unskilful throw, or some unlooked-for success, provoke a laugh
or a good-natured joke,
A well-known author has said, that “ simplicity of soul is
an inexhaustible source of happiness !.” ‘This sitmplicity was
possessed by the Indians of our America. They only needed
to be enlightened by religion, to be delivered of their gloomy
superstitions, cruel practices, revengeful passions, and absurd
pride, in order to be happy. ‘That liberty of life which was
theirs; that freedom from the shackles of custom and the
cares of business which civilized man seeks from time to
time, and enjoys with infinite zest, was not incompatibie with
the duties of a Christian.
1—Chateaubriand.
EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTION 29
But turning from this digression, we are again with Madame
de la Peltrie, at Sillery.
The second year that the Ursulines passed in Canada, the
Foundress went to the Indian chapel for midnight Mass, with
a few of the most exemplary of the seminarists, Little Agnes,
not yet five years old, was of the number. Returning to
the Convent, this wee-one astonished the nuns by her vivid
description of all she had seen and all she had heard. ‘here
was a sermon, and she well understood that the Bethlehemites
of old refused a shelter to the Blessed Virgin and the Infant
Jesus, Her indignation against them is great; and her com-
passion for the sufferings of the Divine Infant in the Cave of
Bethlehem, is so real that she moves the nuns to tears while
she imitates the tone of voice, the gestures, as well as the
words of the preacher.
But Madame de la Peltrie us well as Miss Barré were
oftener at home than abroad, and we shall hear of both several
times yet, as well as of little Agnes.
CHAPTER VI
’ EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTION
From the furest-home of the young Indian girl to the Con-
vent, the distance, in a moral sense, was infinite. Frolicsome
and wild as the little animals that roamed with her, she knew
as little as they of obedience, or wholesome restraint. The
only authority she was taught to respect, was that of her
mother, or her aged grand-parents; but if she chose to be
30 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
wilful, on no account was she punished, nor compelled to
obey. ;
Her clothing was scanty and of the roughest material,
‘Only in winter were her feet and limbs protected by a coarse
sort of moccasin, and gaiters, She knew of no other cosmetics
but soot and bear’s grease ; her matted hair had never been
visited by a comb nor by the scissors. Her bed had been the
ground by the wigwam fire, shared equally by the dogs and
by the rest of the family.
It is not surprising that some of these “ wild birds ” caged
for the first time, occasionally flew off to the forest ; but
when by affection and great patience, they had been tamed,
they proved most docile to instructions, and must exemplary
in piety.
Little Algonquins from Sillery were the first seminarists
the Ursulines undertook to form, and as neither understood
the language of the other, the ditfivulty must have been
extreme, “ A great desire to speak is a great help towards
doing so,” says Mother Mary. We may readily believe it,
since the nuns were able to begin to instruct in Algonquin
before the end of two months, Mother St. Joseph learned
also the Huron tongue and had occasion for it in the fol-
lowing spring.
But with what success have the Ursulines toiled during
these three years ? Of what avail were their instructions ?
“ A tree is known by its fruit.” Let us examine the letters,
written by the nuns to their friends, and we shall find that
they were consoled beyond measure, by the miracles of grace
they daily witnessed among these same little forest-girls, The
Relations concur in the same statements.
Mother Mary declares that these new Christians are as
meek as lambs, and that after their baptism they preserve an:
admirable purity of conscience. Among the seminarists of
EFFECTS OF {NSTRUCTION 81
the first year, she mentions little Marie Gamitiens (godchild
of Mlle, de Chevreuse), who at the age of five or six years, is
no sooner awake in the morning than she begins her prayers ;
she says her beads during mass, and sings hymns in her own
language. Marie Madeleine Abatenau (godchild of another
noble lady), is a model of obedience and ability, knowing her
catechism and reciting her prayers, with a devotion capable
of inspiring others with the same. She also is only six years
old.
But Agnes Chabdikwachich is twelve. It was she who
seeing one of the Fathers at a little distance from the place
where she was making up her bundle of faggots, threw away
her hatchet, crying out: “ Teach me,” and this, so win-
ningly that the good Father pleaded her cause, and brought
her to the convent with one of her little companions. Both
were soon prepared for baptism, and at Easter, with two
others, made their first communion, Agnes is not only well
instructed in her catechism, she is also skilful with her
needle, She handles the viol, knows how to read, and is so
gentle and well behaved, that she merits the name of lamb,
which she bears,
Little Nicole Assipanse is seven years old, At the end
of five months, Nicole knows the principal mysteries of
religion, her catechism and her prayers, so well, that when
her mother comes for her, returning from the winter’s chase,
the little daughter teaches her poor pagan father and mother
to know the true God. With all her talents, she has the.
true Indian character: she must go with her parents, who
have no other child; she coaxes her mother, and gains her
point,
But here is Marie Negabamat, so accustomed to the wild
life of the woods that the good chief, her father, to entice her
to remain in the convent, sends with her two of her friends
i} 32 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
| already baptized. This was not enough; she takes to the
| woods in a few days, tearing her red tunic to shreds, One Del
{ more trial and Marie is obedient,
| She becomes the model, not only of the seminarists but of
| the French pupils, although, as our Mother remarks, “ the
young girls of Quebec are extremely well brought up.
i From day to day she advances in piety; she relishes reli-
”
gious instructions, has a tender devotion to the Blessed
Virgin, and so loves prayer that when the pious exercises: are
over among the seminarists, she goes into the room where
the French pupils are, to continue them,
Marie Amiskivevan wins the heart of all who see her’
She is seventeen years old, and a model of candor and inno-
Ht cence. She excites her companions to piety, treating them
| | with all the charity of a mother, Moreover, she speaks a
little French, and has aided the nuns greatly in their study
of her language.
Another young Algonquin girl, from Three Rivers, receives
; the grace of baptism in such dispositions of fervor and contri-
tion, that Father Buteux, who had sent her to the convent,
is moved to tears, and tells the nuns that this conquest alone
is well worth all the sacrifices they have made, and all the
toils they have undergone in Canada,
|
!
|
}
}
|
{
|
| In reading of such effects of divine grace, we understand
4 better how the nuns could endure with joy the privations
|
and hardships of the mission. Let us cite a few more examples,
A little bind were preparing for their first communion,
Father Pijart once, and Mother Mary two or three times a
day, instructed them how to prepare for their Heavenly
Guest. They were heard exclaiming: “Oh! when will Jesus
come! when will He gaveus the kiss of peace in our souls.”
' Marie Negabamat was in great jubilation, “ Why are
EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTION 33
you so joyful, inquired one?” “ Oh! cried she, I shall soon
receive Jesus into my heart.”
Some begged permission to fast on the eve of their first
communion, and afterwards made that their practice when-
ever they prepared for the reception of the great Sacrament,
These children were not more than twelve years old,
Many of the Indian girls had first to be prepared for the
sacrament of baptism. One day, five were baptized in the
little chapel of the convent, At other times the sacrament
was- administered to men and women, old and young. Their
edifying deportment was most touching. One young woman
had waited many munths for this precious grace. When the
healing waters were poured over her, turning to the specta-
tors, she exclaimed: “ There! it is done! my soul is cleansed,
at last.”
Were these little forest-girls susceptéhic of gratitude, of
benevolence, and the other fine qualities of the mind which
adorn their, possessor? Let their teachers, Mothers Ste, Croix
and St. Joseph, answer: “ Our seminarists, they declare, are
exceedingly grateful, and appreciate highly the services we
render them. One day, seeing the difficulty we have to learn
their language, they exclaimed: ‘Oh! if we could give you
our tongues to speak with, we would do so with pleasure,’ A
better proof of their gratitude is found in their docility, their
affection for their teachers, their willingness to be corrected
of their faults—a thing so contrary to the customs of tneir
race —their readiness to conform to the regulations of the
school, and to remain away from their parents.”
As an instance of their kindness towards each other, let us
cite another passage from the long pages before us. “Some
new scholars had come in; there was no clothing prepared
to put upon them ;—quickly our seminarists supply the
3
84 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
deficiency, without bei. requested to do so, bringing what-
( ever they could spare from their own little wardrobe, It is
they who commence the instructions, They have no greater
I pleasure than to teach the new-comers what we have taught
| them,” 4
All the scholars mentioned thus far were Montagnais or
| Algonquins.
The first Huron seminarist, was the niece of the famous
war-chief Chihatenhwa, He had seen the “ holy virgins,’
les suintes filles, robed in black, who had come to teach the
little Indian girls the way to heaven; and others, dressed eS
| differently, who would take care of the sick, Great was the a
! admiration of his countrymen when they heard the mar- fh
vellous story. He brings his little Teresa to the Convent, is
where she becomes a prodigy of learning and of piety. 4
When next the Huron flotilla covers the river, Chihatenhwa, ;
from afar, points out to his brethren the ‘‘ House of Jesus,”
and hastens to meet his little Teresa. She is only thirteen, F
‘but she has the zeal of an apostle. Her exhortations startle
and subdue the most obstinate. On their return to Huronia,
| they publish her fame throughout the tribe. “ Teresa has °
I more sense than any one who has ever appeared in their §
| country. Doubtless the one who has instructed her is also a
the greatest genius among the French,” Once, at Sillery,
she holds a discourse to catechumens, who remain with her’
more than two hours! The sachems, even of other tribes,
| listen to her with reverence. As to other attainments, Teresa
| speaks two languages with facility, and sings in Huron,
French, and Latin.
The nuns, at another time, must take a few days to attend
to their own souls, “ for of what avail would it be to preach
to others and be one’s self a cast-away?” The little girls are
Ht to have a week of holidays, with Madame de la Peltrie, But
EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTION 85
they must make no noise, for fear of disturbing their good
- Mothers, who are conversing with God in retreat; and, lo!
all these late barbarians are as well versed in good breeding
and genuine politeness, as pupils of the most accomplished
boarding-school, They speak low, they moderate their play ;
yet, the time seems long, and wher their dear Mothers re-
appear, it is to be overwhelmed with caresses,
Teresa the Huron resolves to make a retreat, in imitation
of the nuns. She hides herself in the thicket along the moun-
tain’s base, in order to pray for the conversion of her country-
men without ceasing, and to let no one interfere between her
and God, Won by her example, the others beg to be allowed
to make a retreat, and transforming their school-room into
cells, they set about it with such a will that the nuns must
interfere to moderate their fervor,
Were these little Indian girls attached to their convent
home? Let us ask Teresa who had remained more than iwo.
years, Oh! the separation was most painful. But the mis-
sionaries were auxious to have the influence of the young
seminarist among her countrymen, and her parents could no
longer endure her absence. Teresa makes the sacrifice, for
she has learned obedience; she leaves her dear convent
Mothers. From Three Rivers, she writes to Mother Mary of
the Incarnation :—
“My dear Mother,
“Tam going to my distant home; we are ready to start.
I thank you for all the care you have bestowed upon me. I
thank you for having taught me to serve God. Is it for a
_ thing of small value that I offer you my thanks? Never
shall I forget you.—TrrEsa.”
Two days after she had confided her letter to Father du
36 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Perron who was returning to Quebec, she, with all who
accompanied her, fell into the hands of the ferocious Iroquois,
Faithful to God during her captivity, she continued to instruct
and to edify. After three years she was rescued, through
the intervention of the Governor, who made a present for her
release at the great assembly for the treaty of peace, at Three
Rivers (1645).
The good conduct of the seminarists among their own
people was another subject of immense joy, both to the nuns
and the missionaries, It was their office to regulate the
pious exercises, « say the prayers, to choose the hymns, and
to teach the others how to examine their conscience.
Three young girls had been required to follow their
parents during the winter chase. On their return, in spring,
their first visit was to the Blessed Sacrament ; their next to
the chapel of the Blessed Virgin, to crown her statue with
the flowers they had brought from the woods, Then, entering
the convent, they gave the nuns an account of all they had
-done during their absence. “ Oh, said they, how painful it
was to be so long away from holy Mass and the sacraments !”
During the winter, they had written twice to the Superior of
the Jesuits, to beg him to send a priest to their people. The
letters passed from hand to hand, and were even shown to
ithe Governor, who, like the others, pronounced them admir-
able in style and execution, as well as for the sentiments
expressed,
But it is time to pause, The reader who has seen how
Mother Mary writes to her intimate friends, will understand
-how she could say in the second year of her labors: “ The
Relation will make mention of the seminarists and the con-
solation they give us, but the truth is, if all were published,
it would appear past belief. ‘They lose all their barbarity
“once they are baptized, and one who has seen them running
=_ wT anes “ie
!
2
EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTION 37
wild in the forest, cannot, without emotion, behold them
approach the holy Table, gentle as lambs, to receive the true
Lamb of God. No one would have thought that they could
be brought to live in the cloister; yet they do remain, wil-
lingly, and do not leave it without permission.”
The elegant historian, Bancroft, had he trusted the Letters
aud the Relations, from which we have abridged the above
account, would have given unrestricted praise where he has
said: “ Is it wonderful if the natives were touched by a bene-
volence which their poverty and squalid misery could not
appall ? Their education was attempted ; and the venerable
ash-tree still lives beneath which Mother Mary of the Incar-
nation, so famed for chastened piety, genius, and good judg-
ment, toiled though in vain for the education of the Huron
children,”
The “education” given by the missionaries and by the
nuns had sufficed to soften the manners of a barbarous race,
to elevate their souls by the knowledge of the high and holy
truths of revealed religion, to teach them to forgive, instead
of torturing, a captured foe, to practise the austere virtues of
Christianity, instead of following the instincts of a depraved
and degraded nature, In this success, they found abundant
reward for their toil, which no one, surely, should deem to
have been “ in vain,”
This effect of the instruction given by the Ursulines has
already appeured in the preceding pages ; those that follow
will prove it still more abundantly, while we behold hun-
dreds of Indian children, as well as men and women, receiv-
ing with joy the inestimable boon of faith and transmitting
it to other poor pagans in the distant forest- wilds of the con-
tinent.
38 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
CHAPTER VII
1642 - 1650
EIGHT YEARS IN THE NEW MONASTERY
The conversion of the aborigenes, which Mother Mary of
the Incarnation had seen prefigured as a church just emerg-
ing from clouds and darkness, was now rapidly progressing.
On all sides, the mists of error were retiring, and soon whole
nations embraced Christianity with the fervor of the primi-
tive ages. But was this Church destined to be perpetuated
through a long space of time ? Or was it destined to people
the heavenly Jerusalem with one rich colony of souls, and
then diminish with the nations that formed it ? This latter
destiny, Mother Mary foresaw, as appears by her letters.
So much the more ardent, if possible, was her zeal for the
welfare of souls, purchased with the blood of Christ ; so much
the more strenuous her efforts to be useful to them, by
building for them a more spacious house, where greater num-
bers of them could be instructed unto eternai .ife.
The missionary Fathers often expressed their desire to see
the monastery completed, foretelling that the nuns would
have more labor than they could perform, whether for the
Indians or for the French population.
That monastery was, at last, in readiness to receive inhab-
itants. It was a stately edifice, for the times, built of
dark-colored lime-stone, quarried upon the spot; it was
three stories in height, its length being ninety-two feet and
its width twenty-eight.
Three other massive stone edifices stood within the limits
of the city where the primitive forest yet victoriously dis-
FIRST URSULINE CONVENT.
Built in iy2. Destroved by fire, December 31, 1650,
EIGHT YEARS IN THE NEW MONASTERY 39
puted for the mastery with the encroachments of civiliza-
tion. At various distances froni these centres werc scattered
a certain number of dwelling-houses, built, some of hewn
pine-timber, some of stone. °
Evidently the colonists, if yet few in number, were pro-
vided with means of perpetuating the civilization they had
brought to these northern wilds. The Fort would protect
them from being cut off by the native barbarians ; the college
of the Jesuits and the monastery of the Ursulines provided
for the wants of their souls and the education of their
offspring; the hospital assured them an asylum for the sick
and afflicted,
To the Indians, the new “ House of Jesus ” was a wonder,
worth coming a long way to see. If the little tenement on
the wharf, dignified with the name of “ Convent ” had been
to them so precious, was not this a more secure and cervain
refuge ?
The new Monastery might well be called “ The House of
Jesus ”; no one else could claim to be its proprietor, It had
not been built by means of bazaars or lotteries, so convenient
at the present day to raise funds when coffers are empty.
Neither was it due to the endowments of the foundress:
these barely sufficed for the expenses of the convent, where,
far from exacting payment for board or teaching, food, raiment,
and instruction were distributed gratis, The only banker
known to Mother Mary and her nuns, was divine Providence.
It had not failed them on the present occasion.
With grateful hearts, they prepare to take possession of
their new home; yet it is in a spirit of penance, more than
of joy, as if foreseeing the trials reserved for them and for
their dear neophytes. The fast of the vigil of the Presenta-
tion was a prelude to another on the day of removal, with
all its cares and fatigues,
;
-
ae aoa
40 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
At an early hour, the nuns, preceded by Father Vimont
and followed by their French pupils and their seminarists,
were seen climbing the steep mountain-path which led from
their little convent to the Upper Town, Crowds of Indians
followed, or awaited the sight among the forest-trees along
the way. In the cold atmosphere of autumn, treading the
crisp, fallen leaves that covered the frosty ground, there was
little to make the morning walk pleasant, but when they
approached the goodly mansion prepared for them, all were
deeply affected. The poor forest-children, who had never
beheld anything so grand, could not refrain from shouts of
admiration, wondering if indeed this “ great wigwamn” was
to be their home.
But they soon proceeded again quietly and with recollec-
tion, They knew that the holy sacrifice of mass was to be
offered by the revered Father Gabriel Lalemant, who closed
the procession, bearing the most Holy Sacrament. They
must think over the hymns they were going to sing, and
their good Mothers were preparing for Holy Communion.
Shall we follow them till all kneel in the new chapel ?
It is not very spacious, since it measures only twenty-eight
feet by seventeen, yet it is brilliant with lights and tapestried
for the occasion with red stuffs, borrowed from the store and
destined to other usages. The gilded tabernacle, the em-
broidered altar-front, the highly colored pictures, the priest in
radiant vestments, the sweet odor from the censer and the
sweeter voices of the little seminarists, mingling with the
grave notes of the pious nuns during the Holy Sacrifice, all
combined to make this first Mass in the monastery impres-
sive. it was still more so when the future martyr, before
distributing the Bread of Life, addressed a few words of
exhortation to the fervent Spouses of Christ—words of one
to whom the realities of another world were more present
EIGHT YEARS IN THE NEW MONASTERY 41
than the passing events of this—words that came from a
heart burning with the love of God, and longing to seal that
love with his blood in the midst of sufferings.
But let us leave the chapel, to consider the rest of the
premises. The interior of the convent was still far from
being finished, The sound of the saw, the chisel, and ham-
mer, continued all winter, while partitions were completed,
doors set, and ceilings made secure, Four ample fire-places
which, before spring, devour one hundred and seventy-five
cords of wood, are needed to drive away the cold. During
the night, as a means of keeping from freezing, they have
recourse to large boxes or chests to hold both the bedding and
the sleeper; yet even with this precaution, the cold penetrates
uncomfortably. To remain away from the fire-side more
than an hour at a time, even when weil wrapped up, would
be a great imprudence,
The long pine table is served as heretofore, with “ salt
fish and pork, ” garnished with vegetables, such as the coun-
try produced,
The courageous nuns who never said to sufferings and
toil: ‘‘ That is enough,” had only desired to be lodged more
comfortably, in order to be more useful. During the follow-
ing eight years, that brightest period for the conversion of
the poor Indians of Canada, their labors were incredible,
Besides the regular seminarists who, as we have already
said, were clothed and fed at the expense of the convent, and
who (as the Relations affirm) amounted one year to as many
as eighty, the nuns were daily called upon to give instruction
to Indian women in their class-rooms, and to Indian men at
their parlor. Among these were good Christian Indians from
Sillery, where were now (1642-43) from thirty-five to forty
families, From this centre } the faith spread throughout the
42 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
country, from Miscou and Tadoussac to the canton of the
Hurons.
Here, it is the good Charles Meiaskwat, whose zeal trans-
forms him into an apostle, not only for those of his own nation
on the Saguenay, but even for the Abenakis on the Kennebec.
There, it is another of Mother Mary’s parlor visitors, the
brave chief, Noél Negabamat, who knows no greater happiness
than to explain the Christian doctrine to all who will listen
to him, Again, it is a woman, nearly sixty years of age, who
profits so well of the parlor instructions that she, too, becomes
a missionary. In the depth of winter she penetrates the
forests, and seeks at a distance of many days’ journey, a
savage tribe who have not yet heard the name of God. Doubt-
less the Fathers did not exaggerate the value of such aids as
these, when they said: “The Indian, who is a good Christian
and really zealous, does more good among his countrymen
than three Jesuit missianaries,”
Warned by the fervid exhortations of these new Apostles,
whole tribes, all over the country, were seen moving in the
direction of the various missionary stations, Tadoussac,
Three Rivers, Quebec. The greater number came to the chief
French settlement to see the strange sights it afforded of
European buildings and manners, at the same time that it
promised them not only the succor of the “ black robes, ” but
also of the “ holy virgins.”
The bare enumeration of all these visitors would be tedious,
Let it suffice to instance the following (we quote from the
Relations, 1643), “ While the Attikamegues (a tribe of
Algonquins from Three Rivers) sojourned at Quebec, they
went often to the Ursulines to be instructed, demanding with
importunity, to be taught their prayers or their catechism.
After the instructions, the hunger of these poor people must
*
EIGHT YEARS IN THE NEW MONASTERY 48 .
be appeased, so that they occasioned as much expense per-
haps as the seminarists themselves,”
At the same time, some of the Abenakis were at Sillery,
and were not less eager to be instructed. The following year
came the Iroquets from the great island of the Allumettes,
having passed through the country of their enemies, the
Iroquois. “ The Iroquets, camped near the monastery, went
every day to the nuns’ chapel to be instructed by Father
Dequen; when sufficiently instructed, they were baptized
there. During six weeks, the Ursulines fed this troop of
eighty persons, after mass, and again ata later hour, after
giving them instruction at their parlor, The women came in
their turn, entering the class-room for the same purpose.
“ During the same year, numbers of Hurons, who remained
at Sillery during the winter, were at the convent every day
for instructions, Cold or storm could not deter them. They
remained two or three hours at a time, always occupied in
learning their prayers or the Christian doctrine. These, as
well as the others, must have food before they go.”
It is needless to multiply quotations; they would show a
similar state of things during the following six years,
(to 1650), which is the period under consideration in the
present chapter.
Our readers will have, with us, but one difficulty, and
that is to comprehend how these seven nuns—that was their
number until 1644—could suffice for such labors : religious
instructions in three languages, French, Algonquin, and
Huron ; cooking, distributing food to the family within, and
strangers without ; teaching their seminarists to read, to write
and sew ; teaching their French pupils “ all that is neces-
sary to fit them for the station in society to which they
belong ;” writing letters to the missionaries and to their
friends—not letters of ceremony, but often of many folio
44 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
pages—to say nothing of their religious exercises, which could
by no means have been neglected,
The letters of Mother Mary of the Incarnation during this
period are most characteristic. It is not of her seminarists,
her labors and toils that she chiefly entertains her friends,
Oh, no! In her charity, she identifies herself with all who
labor for the conversion of the Indians, She surveys the field
of missionary labor, from Labrador to the Great Lakes; she
counts the chapels that are built, the number of baptisms, the
holy deaths. She knows all the nomadic tribes that come to
be instructed. She shares. the perils of the missionary, his
enthusiasm, and his longings for martyrdom, After filling
eight or twelve pages with such topics, she adds—“ A word
now of our seminarists; they give us every possible satis-
faction. Their piety, their devotion to the Blessed Sacrament,
their docility, their generosity in overcoming their defects,
all this is ravishing; yet it strikes us less now that we are
accustomed to it.” At other times she merely says: “God
has blessed our labors this year as during the preceding ones ;
we have as much as we can do, especially during the winter
months, when the warriors leave us their children while they
go to hunt.”
Later, when the country from Quebec to lake Huron
becomes one great arena where scenes at once distressing and
consoling are enacted, she suffers with those that suffer,
rejoices in all that conduces to the glory of God, and helps
to obtain by her prayers, that abundance of grace which was
poured out so copiously upon the new Christians, who often
had to pass from the waters of baptism to the fire their
enemies had enkindled around their habitations,
Taking up to the thread of our narrative, we should
record, in the autumn of 1643, the return of Madame de la
Peltrie from Montreal, where she had accompanied Miss
EIGHT YEARS IN THE NEW MONASTERY 45
Mance, the foundress of the Hospital of Ville-Marie, eighteen
months previous, Great was the joy at the convent, both
among the nuns and the little seminarists, some of whom,
being “ old scholars,” had not failed to pray for the dear
lady’s return, every day during her absence,
The foundress was not an idle spectator of the laborious
occupations of the nuns, It was her right, she insisted, to
prepare the little Indian girls for convent-life, where clean-
liness is a first principle. The amount of scrubbing with
soap and warm water it required, together with the long and
patient use of the comb and the scissors, to prepare these
little forest girls for their new garments, was not sufficient
to disconcert her. She loved also to conduct them, for a
holiday, to Sillery, where the parents of many of the semin-
arists lived, Like so many “ birds set free ” they would fly
to their various lodges, passing the time in romping, playing
with their little brothers and sisters, around their mothers,
But when the signal of departure was given, from every
side, they would hasten, gathering around their ningay,
“ darling Mother ”, embracing her with more affection than
their own parents.
The small building known as Madame de la Peltrie’s
house, and which twice served to shelter the entire com-
munity, was erected after her return from Montreal,
From the year 1646, it is withia the Monastery, occupying
through choice the last place among the sisterhood and
sharing all their privations, that we shall find the good
foundress, enjoying in seclusion that peace of mind which is
the reward of the true servants of God,
Other laborers came in, from time to time, to share the
hardships and the joys of the pioneers, A lay-sister from the
Monastery of Dieppe arrived before the nuns had quitted
their little convent on the wharf. It was the good Sister
‘46 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
St. Laurent, who proved a real treasure to the community.
The Ursulines of Ploérmel sent one of their number, Mother
Marie Anne of the Seraphim; Tours sent two, Mothers
Anne of St. Cecilia and Anne of Notre Dame, The venera-
ble Archbishop of Tours was happy to contribute once more
to the welfare of the convent he had blessed so heartily, and
sent out his own carriage to convey the two new missiona-
ries as far as Poitiers, Mother St. Cecilia, after sharing some
years the abundant privations and trials of the little commu-
nity, returned to her monastery in France. Mother Anne
de Notre-Dame, although feeble and suffering, persevered
and rendered service in the classes, both French and Algon-
quin,
In 1645, Mother Mary of the Incarnation joyfully resigned
the office of Superior to Mother St. Athanasius. Announcing
the result of the elections to her son, she says: “ Our dear
Lord has made our k2arts one, so that we can differ neither
in our views nor our desires. We have elected Mother St.
Athanasius, an excellent religious of the Congregation of
Paris, who has such a spirit of union and charity that she
would suffer death rather that disturb the peace that dwells
with us.”
In the following year, Miss Charlotte Barré, who had
accompanied Madame de la Peltrie to Canada only on condi-
tion of being permitted to embrace the religious state,
commenced her novitiate on the feast of the Presentation,
with Catherine Lezeau, the latter as a lay-sister, Both
persevered, and pronounced their vows after the usual proba-
tion of two years, having taken the names of St. Ignatius
and St. Ursula,
Thus, the cloistered family in 1648, consisted of eight
professed choir-nuns and two lay-sisters, Before the ‘close of
the year, a lady from the grand monde, Mademoiselle
MOTHER ST, JOSEPH AND THE HURONS 47
Philippe-Gertrude de Boulogne, sister of Madame d’Aille-
boust, joined the little community of Ursulines,
The triennial election of a Superior was made again in
June (1648), in pace et benedictione }, resulting in the con-
tinuation of the same Mother in the office, Without anti-
cipating more upon a future page, let it be said that Mother
St, Athanasius was one of those remarkable women, whose
precious and noble qualities have entitled her to the lasting
esteem and gratitude of the community, which she continued
to govern alternately with Mother Mary of the Incarnation,
as long as both were spared, This served to cement indisso-
lubly the union between the two congregations of Paris and
Tours, represented about equally for many years in the
monastery of Quebec.
CHAPTER VIII
1640 - 1652
MOTHER ST, JOSEPH AND THE HURONS
From the Huron country to Quebec, by the circuitous
water-route, it wag a distance of, at least, nine hundred miles,
But to the redman of America, long journeys were not
more expensive than his daily life. While his canoe glided
stealthily along under the deep shadows of the overhanging
forests, he knew on what banks to find the wild berries, the
succulent roots; or, if his foot startled the deer and the wild
1—“ In peace and blessing.” Thus marked in the Journal des
Jésuites.
48 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
fowl from their covert, the quick arrow brought him his bill
of fare, without a reckoning. Besides, there were strange
sighvs to be seen, down where the white man had set his great
fort on the top of a mountain, There were “big canoes” with
wings; there where great “ wigwams” not made of bark;
there was a Captain of the day (a clock) that told the French-
man wheu to eat, and when to sleep ; in fine, beautiful beads
to make wamp.m, robes of bright colors; bowls and ladles
that would not burn, could be procured for beaver-skins and
other furs, of which the Indian had an abundance.
These were some of the motives that, in 1630, had brought
to the city of Champlain, one hundred and fifty canoes, bear-
ing six or seven hundred of the tall, well-built, swarthy
braves, from the north shores of Lake Huron. From Point
Levy to the opposite cliffs of Quebec, the channel of the St.
Lawrence was alive with their fantastic barks, each contain-
ing four or five savage warriors ; their shoulders covered with
shaggy hides, their visages glowing with paint of various
colors; their long, naked arms, vigorously swaying the paddle.
This was the first time so large a number of these allies of
the French had appeared at Quebec. In the following years,
their visits were renewed, and generally corresponded to
the ex, ‘ed arriva: of merchant-ships from France, In 1639,
there were stranger sights than ever. The Christian Huron,
Joseph Chihatenhwa, who, after his baptisin, had lived like
a saint, was animated with new fervor. Returning from his
journey he went from “town to town, preaching with heavenly
eloquence,” and publishing what he had seen. “ Ah! said
ie, if you only knew what charity there is among those
who believe in God, you would never remain in your super-
stitions. Even among those who have never seen each other,
there is but one heart and one mind. The daughters of
Sachems who have crossed the great Sea to live in Quebec,
&
MOTHER ST. JOSEPH AND THE HURONS 49
have come for the love of us. When they arrived, there was
such rejoicing, you would have said that all the people of
Quebec were one. Oh! how far are we from resembling
them.”
In the following spring, Joseph sent to the Convent his
young niece, the charming Teresa, whom we have already
mentioned, Mother St. Joseph, in the meantime, had studied
the Huron language with such success that she was able to
converse with Teresa, and with the braves who accompanied
her. Soon Teresa was joined by other young Huron girls,
and not an Indian of the nation could come to Quebec without
seeing the wonderful, “ wise virgin” who could speak their
language.
‘The holy un, so rich in the gifs of grace that we forget
her noble birth and all her rare accomplishments, was to the
poor Indians an angel from heaven; her words were their
law, her influence was irresistible. Her name was known
throughout the Huron country, Those who had never been
in Quebec, knew the Mother of the Hurons, the holy virgin,
as well as those who had been instructed by her in the faith,
From the time Teresa, the niece of the great medicine-man,
with some companions, had entered, there was constantly a
class of young Huron girls at the convent.
There are amusing anecdotes related of the childlike sim-
plicity of some of the Huron warriors,
One of the neophytes of Mother St. Joseph being invited
by his companions to join them in the winter’s chase, declined
giving a decided answer, saying that he wished to consult
his directress: upon which the other replied contemptuously :
“You are not a man, but a woman!” The poor neophyte felt
the reproach keenly, but stifled his anger, and came to recount
his trials to Mother St. Joseph. He was exhoi‘ed to bear the
4
a a ee
50 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
reproach patiently, as became a good Christian, who should
know how to love his enemies. He replied with a sigh:
“That I will do, but, O Mother! you do not know how hard
it is for a man to be called a woman.”
The brave Jean Baptiste had another difficulty. He was
at Quebec with all his family and lived by the hospitality of
the nuns, One day, as he was gcing out to hunt, some of
his fellows refused hii what they had promised to provide.
In his disappointment, he uttered some words of impatience.
Perceiving his fault immediately, he wished to confess it;
but his confessor was absent. There was still a resource
left; he. comes to see Mother St. Joseph, tells her what has
happened, asking her to tell his confessor, when she would
see him, that Jean Baptiste had sinned, but that he was
extremely sorry, «ud begged God to pardon him.
Often the pagan Hurons, decided by their visit to Quebec
to become Christians, remained many months, coming every
day to the convent to be instructed. One of these whom
Mother St. Joseph was instructing, was invited by the
Algonquins to join them ina hunt. He consults the Mother,
who tells him if he is in no hurry to be baptized, she sees
no reason why he should not go; but if, en the contrary, he
desires that grace very ardently, it would be better to remain
and continue to be instructed.
Upon that, he replies with resolution : “ It is decided that
I shall not go. Certainly, my chief business here is to get
baptized. I seek no-other riches than that of being the child
of God.” ie kept his word, received the grace of baptism
some weeks later, and still ~¢mained in Quebec till Mother
St. Joseph had prepared him fcr a fervent first communion.
The assiduity of the Huron neophytes to the parlor instruc-
tions, which lasted two or three hours when needed, has
already been noticed ; but we have not mentioned another tie
ane ey
MOTHER ST. JOSEPH AND THE HURONS 51
between the poor Indians and their Mother, By letters to
her noble parents, Mother St. Joseph obtained abundant
supplies for these poor people, her’ adopted children whom
she cherished as her own spiritual family.
At the time she commenced her intercourse with the
Hurons, there were thirteen missionaries in their country,
laboring with a zeal capable of inspiring the most indifferent
with admiration.
But the relentless Iroquois, those Romans of the New
World, had vowed the destruction of another Carthage. With
atrocious pertinacity they pursued their plan, until the land
of the Hurons was a land of desolation. The hour of
distress proved the hour of salvation. While misfortunes of
every kind were upon them—famine, pestilence, war, in its
most horrid forms—conversions multiplied, Crowds that
had long deferred renouncing their superstitions, hastened to
demand baptism.
The missionaries, after passing through such trials as are
recorded of the most heroic confessors of the faith—the
ordeal of fire and torture in every form which fiends could
invent,—-left upon the list of martyrs the names forever
glorious of Daniel, Garnier, Chabanel, Breboxufand Lalemant !,
all personal friends of the Ursulines.
No one in the colony, perhaps, followed with more interest
than Mother St. Joseph the different stages of that sad
drama, destined to close by the extinction of the Huron
nation ; and when, in the summer of 1650, the last miserable
remnant of a people that had lately reckoned 35,000 souls,
1—The Letters of Mother Mary contain lengthy and interesting
details of the labors, sufferings and combats of these martyrs.
Twenty-nine missionaries had labored for the conversion of the
Hurons ; seven of these had perished by the hand of violence.
52 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
set up their poor camp-huts within view of the monastery,
no heart bled with a deeper wound than hers, Mother
Mary of the Incarnation say \ it was her death-blow. :
Soon they gathered arouna her, in troops of forty or fifty 3
at a time,—as many as the parlor class-room and later the z
bark cabin could hold—men, women and children, Mother
St. Joseph had the secret of consoling them, fortifying them *
with holy instructions, and inspiring them with sentiments
of Christian resignation. i
From the Huron seminarists in captivity among the Iro-
quois, the nuns had most consoling accounts. One of Mother
St. Joseph’s pupils, who had been carried off in 1643, at the
age of thirteen or fourteen, was married, and thus had become
mistress of one of those “ long houses” where several fami-
lies lived together. After ten years of captivity, the mir-
sionary not only found her firm in the faith, but she had
gained wthers to worship her God and pray with her,
Such instances—and they were not unfrequent—show the
value of the instructions given by the nuns, The bright
wave, once set in motion, ran multiplying in widening circles,
under the eye of Him who blessed it, in numbers that will
be known only in heaven,
CHAPTER IX
1650
ONE NIGHT, AND :TS CONSEQUENCES
‘The year 1650, so fertiie in trials and disasters, was
drawing to 9 close. A clear, cold, December evening was
brooding ov. the glistening landscape. The great constella-
ONE NIGHT, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 53
tions which light the wintry firmament with splendor, were
silently marking the early hours of the night. The dark
form of the monastery looked not gloomy, for the ruddy
glow of the casements told of cheerful fires and cheerful faces
within, There was even the sound of merriment, for this
was the hour of recreation.
One who had gained admittance on that evening, would
have found the cloistered inmates enjoying in genial inter-
course the social hour, Adjoining the chapel and choir, was
the community-hall, which the nuns had just entered, leav-
ing the small refectory, with the usual ejaculation : Deus det
nobis suam pacem, “God give us His peace!” That peace
was there, in the depth of their souls. We behold it in their
countenances, as with words of gentle greeting they unfold
already their parcels—knitting, sewing, mending—and take
their seats around a plain centre-table, where two lighted
candles invite them to utilize even the time allotted by rule
to reiaxation,
We have seen them all before. It is Mother St. Athana-
sius, the Superior, who has labored on the arduous mission
ten years; it is the pale and worn, yet gay and energetic
Assistant, Mother St. Joseph. Here is also Mother Mary of the
Incarnation, depositary, the guardian spirit of all; Mothers
Ste. Croix, Anne de Ste, Cecile, Anne de Notre-Dame, Mother
St. Ignatius have come in. The three lay-sisters, St. Lau-
rence, St. Ursula and St. Michael, with the poor Indian widow,
Cecile Arenhatsi, have still the company of the late “ lady
of the castle,” Mademoiselle de Boulogne, now called Mother
St. Dominic, in the kitchen below, where there is work to be
done,
In the hall adjoining the community, the largest in the
house, the Indian girls are in frolicsome glee. Mother Anne
of the Seraphim is in their midst, when Madame de la Pel-
s
54 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
trie enters, and there is a general rush to be near the Vingay,
“the dear Mother,” who never comes to them without giving
and receiving pleasure. “The New year is coming,” they
remind her, and she, with pretended gravity, does not under-
stand the allusion ; yet we know she has counted well her
little seminarists, that no one may be forgotten in her loving
distribution of presents on New Year’s morning }. |
But the hour is waning. Let us look into the French class-
room, where Mother St, Clare presides at the evening recrea-
tion, It is above stairs, We have not complete lists, but we
can name: the Misses de Repentigny, Misses Elizabeth and
Marie Couillard, Juchereau de More, Le Tardif, Marsolet, de
la Poterie, Bourdon, Hayot, Hertel, Godefroy, Misses Made-
leine and Geneviéve Chavigny, Porchet, Nicolet as being
probably of the number. Gay and sportive as young girls
can be, let them enjoy the hour, then close by prayer and a
1—The custom of New Year's visits, and gifts too, in these early
times, has become known to us through the private Journal of the
Jesuits, lately given to the public. One example will suffice, as a
picture of the cordiality that reigned among the inhabitants of New
France. The date we select is, “ Jan. Ist, 1646. The soldiers went to
salute the Governor with their guns; the inhabitants presented
their compliment in a body. He was beforehand with us and came
here at seven o’clock to wish us a happy New Year, addressing each
of the Fathers one after another. [returned his visit after Mass.
(Another time we must be beforehand with him). Mr. Giffard also
came to see us. The Hospital nuns sent us a letter of compliment
early in the morning; the Ursulines also, with beautiful presents,
wax-candles, rosaries, a crucifix; and at dinner, two excellent
pigeon-pies. I sent them two images, in enamel, of St. Ignatius
and St. Francis Xavier. We gave to Mr. Giffard, the Life of Our Lord,
by F. Bonnet; to Mr. des Chatelets, a little volume of Drexelius, on
Eternity ; to Mr. Bourdon, a telescope and compass; and to others,
reliquaries, rosaries, medals, images, etc.
1 went to see Mr. Giffard, Mr. Couillard and Mademoiselle de Re-
entigny. The Ursulines sent to beg I would come and see them
efore the end of the day. I went; and paid my compliments also
to Madame de la Peltrie, who had sent us presents.” Journal des
Jésuites, p. 24.
ONE NIGHT, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 55
preparation for communion to-morrow morning. Have they
not just been told of the fervor of their little rivals, in
the hall below ? If they are more privileged than these little
forest-girls, who have but lately known the good God, should
they be less grateful or less pious ?
The hour of silence is proclaimed by the bell at seven ;
then for a half-hour are heard the grave and solemn tones of
the recitation of the Divine Office. It is the evening tribute
of the spouse of Christ, as the appointed organ of the Church,
offering to Heaven for all creatures, a few notes of that per-
petual hymn which encircles the terrestrial orb; a hymn of
adoration, praise, and love,
An hour later and all had sunk to rest within that peace-
ful mansion; soon all were wrapped in the profound slumber
of the first hours of the night. For
“ Tired Nature’s sweet restorer, balmy sleep,
“ A ready visit pays..........
“ To light on lids unsullied by a tear.’
It gently smooths the pillow for the innocent and the
unworldly, for the simple child whose last act was to
give her heart to God, as well as for the laborious teacher,
Whose last prayer had been for the welfare of her youthful
charge and for the salvation of souls.
Meanwhile, the midnight hour had passed, undisturbed by
dreams of an impending calamity.
Suddenly, the Sister sleeping in the children’s room, is
awakened as by a voice of terror crying out: “ Hasten,
hasten; wake your children, or they will be burned alive.”
She leaps to her feet; the flames were bursting through the
floor into the room, where they all were sleeping. She
shrieks: “ Up! for your lives, children, fly’’—and she rushes
56 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
to the nuns’ dormitory to cry: “ Wake! wake! the house is
on fire. Be quick, and save the children.” In a moment,
all are aware of the danger; the fire was upon them on all
sides.
One rushes to the bell, to give warning of their peril.
Mother Superior, with admirable presence of mind, seizes
the keys and opens the doors. Mother Assistant and Sister
St. Laurence break down the parlor-grating, to afford a way
of escape for those who are on the second story. Some of
the Sisters, thinking the progress of the fire may be arrested,
run in the direction of the cistern for water. Mother Mary
calls to them that it is in vain; they must only think of
saving themselves and the children, But smoke and flames
are quicker than words, The dormitory where the little ones
sleep is already on fire.
Mother St. Ignatius, at the peril of her life, breaks in and
hurries them out,—which is no sooner done than the floor
gives way. Other Sisters seize the little innocents in their
arms and bear them off to a place of safety, returning several
times, regardless of the danger of perishing in the flames.
Mother Mary of the Incarnation had grasped the papers of
the community, and attempted to save some clothing for the
Sisters, who had all rushed from the house with the children,
in their night-dresses. She was alone in the midst of the
flaming mass. The fire was consuming the rooms beneath ;
it was devouring the timbers of the roof, over her head; and
the flames were following upon her steps, as after bowing to
her crucifix in submission to the holy will of God, she flew
along the passage of the dormitory, leading through the parlor,
to a stair-case,—the only issue now possible. Happily, it
was free, although she encountered another danger from the
melting bell, directly over hor way. At the door, she meets
the Father Superior of the Jesuits and all his household,
ONE NIGHT, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 57
hurrying to the rescue, The chapel-room alone was not yet
in flames, They had time to save the Blessed Sacrament,
and such of the sacred vestments as were in the vestry
adjoining, yet not without imminent peril.
But were all safe? Had it been possible in that brief space
of time, between the first alarm and Mother Mary’s egress
from the house, which she measures by the length of the
Miserere—some five or six minutes—to transport all the
children to a place of safety? Had no Sister lost her way ?
Had no one been forgotten ?—anguishing questions were these
to Mother St. Athanasius, who having hastened down witha
Sister to open the doors, did not know that the others had
taken flight in the opposite direction, Shivering there upon
the snow, she endures a mortal agony within her soul, and
calls her Sisters by name,—but no one answers, Casting
herself upon her knees, she invokes the aid of Heaven, she
calls upon the good Angels.
At last, all are reunited around their Mother; the children
and all the Sisters are safe! Poor Cecile had cast herself
from a window in the third story upon the icy ground ; but
she was only stunned. Little Genevieve, alas! was still
missing! But the good Angels were busy: Genevieve had
escaped, unharmed, though found only after a two hours’
search,
Now, higher and higher rise the flames, bursting through
that wooden roof. The heavy timbers bend and fall with a
crash, It is the brightness of mid-day on this midnight scene,
while the cold, silent stars look down unmoved, upon a
glowing, seething furnace, in lieu of the late happy mansion,
the Ursuline Monastery.
On the cold snow-path, clustered close to keep those little
children warm, the nuns are kneeling. They are silent and
calm,—so calm that one of the spectators cries: “ Surely,
58 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
those women have lost their senses, or they are transported
with a vehement love of God! ”
Friends surround them now, and cover them with their
rough garments, They bear off the children, the little
Indian girls to the nearest shelter, the French children, to
their own homes, Madame de la Peltrie, in her night tunic,
and bare-footed until she gets the loan of shoes and a mantle,
shudders in the night air, as she hurries, with the nuns, all
in a similar condition, down the street to the Jesuits’ college,
where they receive hospitality for the night.
In every direction were groups of French and Indians,
watching, in dismay, the progress of the conflagration. Great
was their compassion for the misfortune of those heroic
women, who had never toiled for themselves; and as great
their admiration, beholding their angelic composure under
a calamity so sudden and so terrible.
Whence had the fire originated 7—Vain but inevitable
question on such occasions.
Mother Mary accounts for the disaster as follows: “ The
Sister charged with the bakery had prepared the dough for
baking early the next morning, and to ensure its rising had
placed a pan of coals under the bread-trough, fully intending
to remove it later. This was an unusual thing to do in her
office, and it entirely escaped her memory.” The dreadful
consequences of such forgetfulness we have seen.
Of the dispositions with which the calamity was borne,
Mother Mary, writing to her son, says: ‘“‘ My heart preserved
its usual peace ; I felt neither grief nor anxiety, but united
my will to His whose Hand has passed over us, leaving us
in the state in which He was Himself at this season in the
cave of Bethlehem.”
Early the next morning, the friendly nuns of the Hospital
sent their steward with a pressing invitation to accept hospi-
ONE NIGHT, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 59
tality with them. ‘The Governor, on the other hand, had
ordered preparations to be made for them at the Castle, The
nuns were grateful to both; but preferring the monastery
to the Governor’s residence, they were soon in the arms of
their dear sisters, the Hospitalieres, who shed abundant
tears, while they welcomed them so cordially to their home.
Quickly the kind nuns brought apparel from their own
wardrobe, and the whole community of Ursulines were trans-
formed into Hospitallers, dear Madame de la Peltrie with
the others,
In the course of the day, the Governor, with Father Rague-
neau, vame to convey to the scene of the disaster, the Supe-
rior of the Ursulines, with Mother Mary of the Incarnation,
Madame de la Peltrie and Mother St. Joseph,
That smoking heap of stones was a sad spectacle, There
had perished, not only the fruit of ten years’ solicitude and
toil, but also the six months’ store for themselves and their
seminarists, a part of it due to the charity of their friends in
France: their provisions for the rest of the winter, their
clothing and beds, the furniture of their chapel and school-
rooms ; all, in fine, that had been provided for the service
of the poor Indians, and for their own comfort and subsist-
ence ; all had been utterly consumed. Madame de la Peltrie
had Jost every thing as well as the nuns.
The New Year’s greeting, so cordial in those early times
that even to read of it is refreshing, must have given occasion
to many touching expressions of sympathy. The nuns were
at least, safely lodged, for the time being. Nothing that the
most delicate and ingenious charity could suggest, was omitted
on the part of the dear hospital Sisters, to alleviate their
distress. During three weeks, with indefatigable zeal, these
“friends in need ” furnished materials, and aided in putting
together complete suits of apparel for each of the Ursulines.
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; The two communities made but one, seated at the same
table, observing the same rule, and reciting the Divine Office
together : but can Ursulines live without having little children
around them ? Evidently not. Already the vacant house of
Madame de la Peltrie has been examined, and the offer of
the good foundress accepted. The nuns soon remove thither,
bearing with them the generous gifs of their benefactresses ;
and the not less generous loan of at least 500 livres worth of
commodities, necessary for a bare commencement. They
brought, above all, and bequeathed to their successors, an
inexhaustible fund of gratitude for unbounded hospitality and
sisterly kindness.
Among the many marks of sympathy the Ursulines received
f while they were the guests of the generous Hospital nuns,
perhaps none touched them more than the visit of condolence
mo from their poor Hurons, Assembled in one of the large halls
of the Hospital, their chief, Louis Taiearonk, opened his
harangue as follows :
ass = Soe Sane
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. . *
= Barat es ES SEES Bs
“Holy Virgins: You behold here a miserable skeleton, which
was one a living, happy people. Our flesh has been devoured by war
and by famine. These poor bones are only held together by your
; benevolence and compassion. Consider our sad fate, and you will
| see that we have every reason to weep for ourselves a torrent of
mt tears. Alas! the friends that kept us from utter destruction have
i i become like us, and their affliction renews all our distress. Must it
i hi be said that we have seen that great House of Jesus, the House of
i Charity, reduced to ashes in a moment? We have seen the fire
pursue, without respect, your sacred persons! In that conflagration
we beheld again our own houses, our towns and country in flames.
Alas! must the fire follow the poor Huron wherever he goes ? Weep,
oh! weep, my brethren, weep with me the misfortunes which were
ours, and which have become the portion of these innocent virgins.
Holy virgins: lo! you are reduced to the same extremity as your
poor Hurons, for whom your compassion was so great. You have
no more a country, a home, nor a hope, but in heaven where you
have placed all your desires.
ONE NIGHT, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 6L
We have come hither to console you, and before entering this
hall,we entered your hearts to see what was your greatest affliction,
in order to seek a remedy. If we were addressing persons like our-
selves, our customs would lead us to offer you a present to dry
your tears, and another to restore your courage ; but we see that
your courage has not failed, and as to tears, you have shed none
for your misfortunes. Your eyes are not fixed upon any thing lower
than heaven, where you have placed your treasures.
Thus, our presents are superfluous. There is but one evil to be
apprehended, and that threatens us more than you. It is the
effect which the news of this deplorable accident will have upon
your frien'ls in France. They will be more touched by it than you
are, and will call loudly for your return. How can a mother read:
without tears the letter that will tell her that her daughter is with-
‘out food or clothing, bed or lodging, in tine, without any of the
cointorts of life ? The first thought of these poor mothers will be
‘to recall you, that they may have the consolation of relieving your
distress. A brother would do the same for his sister, an uncle for
his niece. Thus we are in danger of losing you, and of being deprived
-of the aid we hoped to continue to enjoy, in having our daughters
instructed in the Faith. .
Take courage, holy virgins ! Do not suffer yourselves to be over-
‘come by the tenderness of your relatives. Let it be seen that the
charity you have for us is stronger than the ties of nature! To
fortify your resolution in this respect, here is a present (a wampum
belt of twelve hundred grains) to fix your feet so firmly on the soil
that no love of home or country will be able to remove them.
The second present (another belt) which we beg you to accept,
is to lay the foundations of another.House of Jesus, a House of
Prayer, where you may again instruct our children. These are
the desires of our hearts; doubtless they are yours also; for you
would not die happy if you could reproach yourselves with having,
‘through too tender a love for your parents, lost the opportunity of
aiding to procure the salvation of so many souls, whoin you love in
‘God, and who will one day be your crown in heaven.”
Doubtless, this harangue has lost, by the double transla-
tion, much of the vivid coloring it had in its native dress,
yet it shows how sincere was their attachment to the faith,
and to all who contributed to their instruction.
62 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
CHAPTER X
7) a
d 1650-1652
4
‘ hi
i COURAGE IN ADVERSITY
Had the Ursulines been of only moderate utility to the
colony, whether for aiding in converting the Indians, or in
diffusing the blessings of instruction and education among the
rising generation of French Canadians, the conjuncture would
have been favorable to allow them to retire. Ten years were
i sufficient for an experiment, and had there been a want of
mi ; success, the nuns themselves, after all the hardships they had
vit endured and all the uncertainties before them, would have had
a right to desist from their enterprise without being taxed
Mi with pusillanimity. The spring vessels, bringing them the
ii usual succor, would have enabled them to defray the expenses
| of their passage home. That they would have been cordially
welcomed by their different communities, was evident from
| the pressing invitations they had already received to quit the
country, on account of the Indian warfare and the precarious
state of the colony. These invitations were still more urgent
when tidings of the conflagration of the monastery had reached
| their friends in France.
{ No one conversant with the early history of Canada is
| q ignorant how critical was the state of affairs, and how
gloomy the prospect during the years that followed the
dispersion of the Hurons, The Iroquois, flushed by his
success, dazzled by the fires that had consumed his victim,
had not paused to rest in the solitude he had made,
‘it Throughout the land, he was busy ; here, to cut off a flying
il band of Hurons ; there, to scalp the trembling Algonquin ;
COURAGE IN ADVERSITY 63
and everywhere to. beset the French and confine them within |
their forts. The ubiquitous Iroquois seemed destined to
remain sole master of a devastated country ; two thousand
Frenchmen, scattered along the St. Lawrence, at the various
settlements and trading-posts, were but a handful, compared
to the Hurons destroyed — yec their means of defence were
far different,
All this was well known to the nuns; but they had
determined to persevere, and share the fate of the colony
whose interests they had espoused, ‘“ How could we abandon
our Christian neophytes ?” says Mother Mary of the Incar-
nation, “ They ar2 our treasures, our spiritual children, for
whom we are ready to die a million of times. And what
will become of our dear French girls without instruction,
without culture? No! we are not so cowardly as to betray
our trust or abandon our post. Our enemies are powerful,
but God is greater than they.”
The resolution of the nuns was applauded by the public.
In an assembly of the principal citizens and the Jesuit
Fathers, presided by the Governor D’Ailleboust, it was
decided to offer them a loan, free of interest for six years,
and to aid them as far as possible in rebuilding their
monastery.
Let us now return to the “ Bethlehem ” of the Ursulines,
to take note of some of its comforts and conveniences,
The mansion, built probably on the model of other small
dwelling-houses of the city, was two stories high, thirty
feet in length and twenty in breadth. These were narrow
limits for thirteen persons, to whom a chapel and a class-
room were as indispensable as a dining-room and a’ dor-
mitory. Their ingenuity and their patience, having already
been tasked in a similar manner, they were soon at home
in their new domicile, Beds were arranged, one above
64 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
another, for themselves and for some little boarders, proba-
bly orphans ; a wooden partition screened off a little chapel.
A sort of rustic cottage covered on all sides with bark, in
the Huron style of building, gave them an additional class-
room where they might instruct their neophytes. Their
poverty, which excited universal compassion, reduced them
te receive alms from such as would have been succored
by them, in better days. “ One would bring a towel, a che-
mise, or a cloak; another presented a chicken, a few eggs, or
a loaf of bread.”
“The Jesuit Fathers, says Mother Mary, sent, to clothe us,
the stuffs destined for their own use; they gave us provisions,
linen, and blankets for our beds, They lent us the services
of their lay-brothers and their workmen, to aid in the build-
ing. The Governor also and his wife, Madame @’Ailleboust,
succored us in many ways. In short, all our friends showed
themselves so compassionate and obliging that we have no
words sufficient to express our gratitude. Ifthe poverty of
our colonists is great, their charity is far greater.”
In the mean time they sought to resume the labors of the
institute, in favor of the young French girls, as well as the
Indians.
The snow had not yet fully disappeared from the ground,
when the nuns were seen clearing away, with their own
hands, the rubbish that covered the charred foundations, in
preparation for the work of the masons. On the 18th of May,
in presence of the Governor and a goodly company, another
corner-stone was blessed by Father Lalemant, and laid,
with the usual ceremonies, by Madame de la Peltrie, All
the workmen that could be obtained were employed, and
the walls rose so rapidly that some hopes wete entertained
of inhabiting the house the following winter.
COURAGE IN ADVERSITY 65
But the short summer passed too quickly!; autumn
came, and the long winter set in, before the interior of the
monastery was sufficiently advanced to set at liberty the
inmates of “ Bethlehem’s cave”, pent up as they were, and
stifling in smoke and unwholesome air.
The winter was indeed long and painful for many reasons.
The beloved Mother St. Joseph, who for the last four years
had been declining in consumption, had not yet given up
teaching her dear Hurons, All summer she had kept her
place in the bark-lodge, where Mother Mary accompanied her,
while she continued to explain the way to serve God, to her
attentive hearers, men and women, to the number of forty
or fifty. Poor Indians! how they listened with open, won-
dering eyes, marking by expressive gestures, their assent, and
their admiration of the heavenly teachings that feli from her
lips! But even the supernatural energy of a soul all on fire’
with holy zeal, could no longer support the wasted frame, nor
hush the stifling cough.
Mother St. Joseph, extended upon her humble couch,
from which she was never more to rise, lingered from the
second of February to the fourth of April.
The picture of that sick-room is too sad to retrace, were it
not all radiant with the glow of beavenly visitors—angels of
]—Mother Mary of the Incarnation tells us how the nuns managed
to live after the burning of the convent, The spring vessels bringing
them only the usual supplies when they were in need of every-
thing, their Chaplain, M. Antoine Vignal, undertook to provide for
their subsistence by cultivating their land. He took laborers with
him, and set them the example, by toiling early and late. God so
blessed his charity and his labor, that they harvested wheat, peas
and barley in sufficient quantity for the forty persons that composed
the family of that year, “We have a double team of oxen for our
labor and six cows that furnish us with milk and butter.” Father
Vignal continued his charitable care of the community until 1657,
when he joined the Sulpicians.
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66 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
peace and consolation, flitting around the death-bed of a
saint! That cick-room was the common dormitory; that
dying-couch, one of those beds arranged in tiers as on ship-
board, on which even a person in health would not comfortably
repose,
Mother Mary of the Incarnation has described the scene.
“ The altar where the Divine Sacrifice was offered being
in the adjoining apartment, the dear sufferer could hear
mass from her bed and listen to the occasional exhortations,
which was a great comfort to her. On the other hand,
she could see all who went to the chapel, as they must
pass before her bed ; she could hear the singing, the clang
of the bell, the clatter of wooden shoes, the noise of the
school-room, the din of the kitchen, which was in the room
below, and separated from hers by a simple flooring. The
odor of eels infected the whole house; the smoke forced us
to open the windows, even in the coldest weather. All this
incommoded her and augmented her cough, yet, far from
uttering the least complaint, she would fain persuade us that
it amused her,
“She even congratulated herself upon the privations she
endured: Oh! how happy I am, she would say, to end my
life in this poor place, deprived of the comforts and delicacies
I would have enjoyed in France! Tell our good Mothers of
Tours, tell my dear parents, that I die happy in the sacrifice
I have made, Tell them I have never regretted coming to
Canada. God has given me the promised hundred-fold in
this life, and I now look forward with confidence to the
crown of eternal life in the next, acco-ding to His word.”
After this dying message to her dear parents and her
Mothers in France, she had yet mapy things to say to her
beloved Sisters around her. They must not fatigue them-
selves at the burial, nor attempt to follow out the ceremonial,
COURAGE IN ADVERSITY 67
by bearing her body themselves to the place of interment.
The laboring men could do that. She had a kind word of
encouragement for erch, and a smile that told of the utter
peace of her soul.
The sacred Viaticum was brought to the dying spouse of
Christ ; the consoling sacrament of extreme unction admin-
istered. The last three days of her holy life were such a
foretaste of heavenly bliss as effaced all impression of physical
sufferings, and the separation of soul and body was gente as
the parting of the sunset glow from the summer cloud.
The funeral ceremonies were performed in the new
monastery, and were attended by a great concourse both of
French and Indians. Mother St, Joseph was universally
esteemed, and universally regretted. The Governor, who
was present at her funeral, had begged to be recommended
to her prayers, with all the colony.
The Hurons may be said to have been the chief mourners ;
for them she had been a benefactress, a tender mother; the
tidings of her death filled their hamlet with lamentations ;
but faithful to the pious lessons they had received, they did
not fail, on the following morning, to have the Requiem ser-
vice performed for her, on their Island (Isle of Orleans),
before they came to assist at her burial.
In the garden of the Monastery, is a spot, still regarded as
consecrated ground, although the mortal remains of beloved
Mother St. Joseph no longer repose there. If we may there
trace her epitaph, three words will suffice: INNOCENCE,
FIDELITY TO GRACE, UNBOUNDED CHARITY,
Her ancestors, the feudal lords of St. Germain and Savon-
niéres, had never been more nobly represented than in her
father, M. de Ja Troche; her mother, Jeanne Raoul, was of the
highest nobility ; yet it may safely be asserted that in herself
culminated the glory of an illustrious family. ‘The sweet
iit
i
68 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
odor of piety breathes from her very cradle, and her first
tottering footsteps bear her on errands of charity. Idolized
by her parents, and returning their love with all the tenderness
of her youthful heart, Marie de la Troche, at the age of
thirteen, already meditates the sacrifice of her immense wealth,
her noble name, all the advantages the world offers her, in
order to become the spouse of Him, who, for her love, had
given His life on Calvary, By her importunities, and by
arguments above her years, she triumphed over the opposition
of her parents and obtained their consent to enter the novitiate
of the Ursulines at Tours, where she had been placed for her
education.
The postulant of fourteen was a child in years only, In
judgment, in capacity, in fidelity to the duties of the religious
life, she was mature as a person of thirty. At sixteen, she
pronounced her vows with the fervor of one who fully
appreciated the grace of her vocation.
Her fidelity in the discharge of her duties in the schools,
her piety, her engaging modesty and unaffected gravity,
rendered her the model of her companions and the delight of
her superiors, Her zeal for the salvation of souls, which
had manifested itself from her tender infancy, was an undying
flame, enkindled in her soul in order to consume every other
affection. This zeal was the principle of her vocation for
Canada, and of the courage which sustained her in the midst
of such labors and hardships as attended her here.
Her first apostolate for the conversion of the poor Indians
was that of prayer—uniting herself in spirit with the mis-
sionaries, and offering her labors and sufferings to God in
their behalf. Her desire to devote herself to their instruction,
. she had regarded as chimerical, until the moment when the
way was opened so providentially. Her demand to te
al.owed to accompany Mother Mary of the Incarnation, was
COURAGE IN ADVERSITY 69
met by an intimation to be in readiness to take the office of
another Sister who would be appointed to go. But neither
the opposition of her community, unwilling for many reasons
to part with her, nor the justly expected refusal of her
parents to consent to her going, disturbed the equanimity of
her generous soul, Confiding in the protection of St, Joseph,
she awaited the result of the deliberations of the various
parties interested. That result, as we know already, was
most fortunate for the foundation of the Ursulines of Quebec,
Next to the name of Mother Mary of the Incarnation, that
of Mother St. Joseph is dear to their hearts.. They can
never forget that the first of her three constant demands to
Heaven, was—“ The sanctification of her community ;” the
second was “ The conversion of all the pagan nations of
America ;”—the third “ the preservation and prosperity of
the French colony in Canada.”
In connexion with the name of Mother St. Joseph, we
are happy to enable our readers to form a more intimate
acquaintance with this beloved “ elder sister ” of the Ursu-
line family of the Old Monastery, through a letter—the only
one known to exist—which has lately come into our posses-
sion!, This letter was written to congratulate Mother
Mary of the Incarnation’s son, Claude Martin, for having
like his mother and herself, chosen the “ better part ” by
entering the novitiate of the Benedictines. At the same
time we discover the kindness of her heart when she
informs him, in terms as delicate. as the act itself, of the
1—Rev. Léon Chapot who has written an admirable Life of Vene-
rable Mother Mary of the Incarnation—searching through the old
manuscripts of the National Library (Paris) for letters of Dom
Claude Martin, whose life, he purposes to write, discovered this
treasure and sent us a fac-simile of the original, which will be care-
fully preserved in‘our archives.
SS
——=
— =
=
———S
a
70
GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
friendship and protection she has procured for him in her
own family, The letter is headed by the holy names :
“ Jesus, Mary, Joseph.
“ My dear brother,
“ Your good mother and mine, having allowed me to write a few
lines in her letter to you, I cannot commence better than by con-
gratulating youon the happy choice you have made of the religious
state, and I assure you that I have felt on this occasion, as much
consolation as if you were my own brother. I am certain that you’
already experience how “ sweet is the Lord to those who love Him,”
and that “ one day passed in His courts is better than a thousand
passed in the tents of sinners.” Enjoy your happiness, my dear
brother, while I bless a thousand .times our good God who has
bestowed it upon you, and who has touched your heart and attracted
it so forcibly. Well may you now, ever “ sing the mercies of the
Lord ” who has caused “ your lot and your share to fall in so good
a place.”
‘* How great and how noble is your inheritance, since it raises
you to the most excellent dignity of the children of God, and
makes you esteem all the riches of the world as dust and ashes,
compared to the riches of the poverty of Jesus Christ. I beseech
Him, most earnestly, to bless and perfect the gifts and the graces
which He has bestowed upon you, and to grant you perseverance.
I pray for this even as I pray for my own salvation, but in case the
austerities of the rule you have embraced, should surpass your
strength and oblige you to return to the world, I beg and conjure
you, my dear brother, not to have recourse to any one but my
mother for the assistance you may need*or to obtain a position or
employment.
“T have her word that she will be as a mother to you, and
that she will have the same care of you as if you were her son. She
wrote me this assurance by the last ship, in answer to a request
I made her a year ago on account of its having been reported to
your good mother that there was no one to provide for you. At the
same time she has. made it her duty to seek a good situation for
you in some office with my uncle the Bishop of Xinte. If the situa-
tion is not as brilliant as the place which the Duchess d’Aiguillon
~~
THE SECOND MONASTERY 71
offered you, it will, at least, aid you as much towards your salva-
tion, But our Lord, has seen fit to provide for you Himself in a much
better manner. May men and angels forever bless Him for His
goodness.
“Tf I have told you this it is to show you the watchful care
of divine Providence in your regard, and how for one mother whom
God has taken from you, He has provided several others who have
really inherited her affection for you. I shall say only one word of
her, which is, that I consider you most happy to be the son of so
holy a mother. I have no doubt of its being the richest title which
Heaven could bestow upon your birth; atitle which will bring you
a thousand graces and blessings.
“T wish as many of these blessings for you as for myself, being
most cordially in Jesus,
My dear brother,
Your very humble and obliged servant,
Saur Marts ve St-Josepn, R. U. Q.”
CHAPTER XI
1652 - 1665
THE SECOND MONASTERY
After a residence of fifteen months in the house of Madame
de la Peltrie, the Ursulines were enabled to remove to their
new convent. Mother Mary, with that wise forethought
which marked all her plans, had provided additional class-
rooms by extending the walls to the length of one hundred
and eight feet, instead of ninety-two.
The nuns removed on the vigil of Pentecost. As usual,
the whole population of Quebec took part in the rejoicings,
72 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
On the morning of Pentecost Sunday, a procession from the
parish church,—priests in glittering cope and stole, youths in
the white robe of the acolyte, citizens in holiday attire, came
singing hymns befitting the occasion, to transport the Blessed
Sacrament from the lowly altar where it had rested for the
last fifteen months, to the tabernacle prepared in the new
convent for its reception. During three days, the clergy and
people came in similar order to sing High Mass in the new
chapel, whee there was exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
for the Quarant’ Ore. To all the country, the rebuilding of
the monastery and the opening of the schools on a larger
scale, was a subject of joy and congratulation ; while men of
business, aware of the difficulties and cost of such a work,
wondered to see it accomplished in so short a period.
Once more Mother Mary and her companions were at
liberty to give full scope to their zeal. The bark cabin
might be torn down; the shade of the great ash-tiee!, des-
tined to perpetuate the memory of the holy teachings in the
open air, might—unless from choice—be abandoned, At all
hours, a more secure shelter would protect them, while they
continue the two-fold labor of their institute, never forgetting
that the best means to benetit the souls of others, is to aim
daily at a closer union with God by charity and self-sacrifice.
The seminarists continued to occupy the house of Madame
de la Peltrie. The French population was not yet numerous,
but there was a rising generation, as the Relations testify,
(1653) of “fine, healthy children.”
This explains what Mother Mary states of the institute
at this period: “ After the restoration of our Monastery ” she
1—Our readers will find, the “ Old ash-tree ” depicted, as it appear-
ed in 1842, in a View of the Convent, at another page—Our annals
confirm the traditions relative to the identity of this tree, which
finally disappeared in 1868, as will be mentioned later.
THE SECOND MONASTERY 73
writes, “our pupils became more numerous in proportion to
our accom nodations. In fact, we have been, at times, over-
charged, aud I have seen myself, to my great regret, forced
to refuse many; the poor parents, retiring with tears in their
eyes, while I wept in my heart. It is indeed a miracle that
we have been able to subsist.”
When we reflect how well the good Mother understood the
art of providing for a large family, with very narrow resources,
we may easily form some estimate of the number of pupils,
The zeal of the colonists for the education of their children
need not be frustrated by the scarcity of money. The usual
barter of the country will do, for the nuns required “ /fire-
wood, butter, pork, salted-cels, corn, vegetables, &c.,” although
they cultivate as much land as possible, under the charitable
direction of their chaplain.
From the Journal of the Jesuits, already cited, we learn
that, in 1660, forty children made their first’ communion at
the parish church, twenty of whom had been placed at the
convent by the bishop, for the usual preliminary instruc-
tions, From this number of children within the limits of the
city, nearly of the sdme age, it is reasonable to infer that the
French pupils under the care of the Ursulines at this period
were numerous: the usual proportion of children for their
first communion is not one fourth of those sent to school.
The education of those times, without embracing the
diversified programme required by the customs of the present
day, was perhaps the more favorable to the development of
the superior faculties of the mind. The rules for the institute
which were printed at that date ! and followed, required the
pupils to be taught reading and grammar, the Christian doc-
]—In the first Ursuline Convent, Paris.
i
|
i
at
74 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
trine and sacred history, practical arithmetic, penmanship
and needlework.
The requirements of modern systems of education were
unknown in the 17th century, nor were they yet fashionable
in Louis XIV, or Queen Anne’s time.
In preparation for the instruction of the Huron seminarists,
Mother Mary of Incarnation had commenced the study of
their language, two years before Mother St, Joseph’s death.
Their classes, therefore, did not suffer, and we hear of
“ good seminarists ” who are “ pious and devout,” who are
so “ well advanced that they are able to aid in the classes,
teaching their companions to read and to write: able also,
to make their clothes and keep tne house in order.” Finally,
we hear of several “ who begged to be received into the
novitiate; but as the nuns always put them off, they un-
derstoou, at last, that they could not always remain in the
same place; they longed for the woods, yet left the convent
with regret 1.” ‘‘ We have not sense enough, they said, to
live like you;.”” they might have said, God has given us
hearts to love Him, but not lungs to breathe the air of cities,
Like those wild and yet beautiful flowers, the Orchis tribe,
that thrive in the clefts of rocks, at the base of the over-
hanging precipice, in the solitude of the forest glade, but
fade and die when transplanted to the garden and treated to
a rich soil: so our native American tribes faded and were
short-lived, in proportion as they were deprived of the air
and life of the great forests, which for so many ages had
been the home of the redman,
1—Letters of Mother Mary of the Incarnation, and Relations
1653, 4, 1655-1658.
The Hospital nuns received one into thair novitiate, but she only
lived to receive the habit and to pronounce her vows on her death-
bed. A few others have been received into the different commu-
nities of Canada but all died young.
THE SECOND MONASTERY 75
Besides the direct object of instruction, the monastery was
the ordinary refuge for the Indian girls, whenever their
parents were unable to protect them.
Sometimes it was an orphan, that the relatives could not
provide for; sometimes a babe of some months, which
the nuns were offered because the mother was dead, or that
two of the same age were burdensome. More than once, a
poor widow, with tearful eyes, begged for the protecting
shelter of the convent, and was not refused. Mother Mary
seems to have had a special compassion, and a special care
for widows and orphans.
With the latter she was most successful in forming them
to all the usages of civilized life. Some of these seminarists,
really intelligent and accomplished, became the wives of res-
pectable Frenchmen. Mr. Boucher, afterwards governor of
Three Rivers, married a seminarist.
Another enterprise had been undertaken, in 1656, as if in
anticipation of the presence of the chief Pastor. It was a
church, adjoining the convent, commenced by the unwearied
_ friend of the Ursulines, Madame de la Peltrie.
The pious widow, who without the consolation of au irrevo-
cable engagement in the service of her Divine Master, per-
severed in the humble and retired life she had embraced in
the community, had long nourished the project of building a
“ House to the Lord”—thus she designated the church she
had in contemplation. While the nuns were engaged in
rebuilding the monastery, she had commenced amassing the
necessary funds, Her annual income, much diminished by the
law-proceedings of her relatives, only permitted her to begin
in 1656. The governor, M. de Lauzon, invited to lay the
corner-stone, had assisted at vespers with his suite, in
the little chapel of the monastery, on the feast of the Ascen-
sion. The Oftice of the Church concluded, the Superior of
76 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
the Jesuits and other ecclesiastics, proceeded to the spot
selected for the foundation. The stone, inscribed with the
sacred names—Jesus, Mary, Joseph —was blessed by Father
LeMercier; the Governor, with his silver trowel, performed
the part assigned him in the ceremony, while all the cloistered
family looked on with pleasing anticipations,
Two years and a half later (Jan. 6, 1659), “the chapel was
solemnly blessed ! by the Superior of the Jesuits ; the Blessed
Sacrament was transported to the new altar, leaving the
apartments which had hitherto served for prayer and the
divine Sacrifice, free to be employed as class-rooms or for
other purposes.
At the close of this period of thirteen years (1665), we
find the Ursulines had augmented their number of teachers
in the institute, by receiving several subjects formed in their
classes. Although the Indian race had greatly diminished
throughout the country since the first arrival of the nuns—
cut off by sickness 2 and the unsparing »"™s of the Iroquois,
—there were still the sedentary Indians cf Sillery, whose
daughters, from the first, were instructed in the convent ;
there were also the Hurons, who, since they had been trans-
ferred from the Island of Orleans to Quebec (1658), and
lodged near the Chdéteau St. Louis, sent their children daily
for instruction, to the number of sixty or eighty. These, as
in former times, had their daily mess of sagamité, after their
school ‘was over.
During the winter of 1662, Mother Mary was surrounded
by a class of novices, eager to render themselves useful, and
1—Journal des Jésuites,
2—‘ Sickness, ”.—among the Indians.—For Europeans, the country
was remarkably healthy. During thirty-two years, only two deaths
had occurred in the community.
ARRIVAL OF BISHOP LAVAL 77
to avail themselves of her knowledge of the Indian languages,
For their benefit and for the use of the other nuns, she com-
posed at that time, a catechism in Huron, three in Algonquin,
and a large dictionary, French and Algcavuin, With all this
labor for the Indian race, writing in 1664, she says: “ We
are still more occupied in the classes for the French children,
and, it is certain that if God had not sent the Ursulines to
Canada, they would be left to the most deplorable ignorance,
All the young girls in the country pass through our hands,
and this causes piety and religion to flourish everywhere,
The French population, rapidly increasing, our employments
must kee} pace with that increase.”
CHAPTER XII
1652-1665
THE NOVITIATE
ARRIVAL OF BISHOP LAVAL
The secret of a religious vocation is, for many, a mystery
unfathomable: but in vain would they seek, in the circle of
human passions, the motive for embracing a state, whose
first obligation is to curb those passions. By what standard
can the wordly-minded, the unbelieving, judge of actions that
arise from motives superior to nature? No; they are incapa-
ble of forming a just estimate in these matters; and from
false premises, necessarily draw false conclusions, They study
the phenomenon from their own level, and setting up a cari-
ature, call it a true portrait. Ambition, pride, self-love—at
78 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
best religious enthusiasm—they cannot mount to higher
motives, But when has pride or ambition prompted one to
reduce himself to be the servant of the poor, the orphan, or
the savage? Self-love is not so blind as to seek admirers in
the wilderness, nor so courageous as to endure long years of
abnegation and utter self-sacrifice!. As to religious enthu-
siasm, it may excite to rash enterprises, but it is insufficient
to ensure perseverance ; the fire invariably burns out, and
leaves its possessor weaker than before.
The true motive of a religous vocation, especially for the
active Orders, is CHARITY,—that supreme love of God which
hears with joy the injunction : “ Take up they Cross and follow
me ;”—believing in the promised “hundred-fold in this world,
and eternal life in the next”; believing also the words of
our Saviour: “ Whatsoever ye have done to the least of
these, ye have done unto me.” Without this supernatural
motive, in a greater or less degree, there can be no true
religious vocation.
But it is time to return from this digression. The value
of the labors of our first Ursulines to society is sufficiently
evident ; but how will their work be perpetuated ? Will
the wild soil of Canada be found productive of plants fit
to be transferred to the “Garden enclosed” of the Celestial
Bridegroom ? Yet, why should we not expect to find the
lily and the rose blossoming under the shadow of the Cross ?
In an atmosphere, redolent of the purest Christianity, there
could not be a dearth of vocations for the cloister.
1—The present century will have to record other heroic examples
of self-sacritice ; and none more resembling that of the first Ursu-
lines and Hospital nuns of Canada than the recent establishment
for the poor savages of the river McKenzie, by the courageous
Sister Lapointe and her little community, the daughters of Madame
d’Youville.
ARRIVAL OF BISHOP LAVAL 79
We have seen that three novices had been received before
the burning of the convent; Miss Barré and Miss de Bou-
logne were natives of France ; Catherine Lezeau, a lay-sister,
was the first Canadian novice.
In 1652, Miss Cenevieve Bourdon, at the age of fourteen,
hears the mysterious call, and turning away from the world
she was just entering, she begs to be permitted t» embrace
the religious state. The Honorable Procureur Général, her
father, was of that class of men, whose worth is superior to
any station. The refuge of the poor, the protector of the
widow and the orphan, he was a man of prayer, leading an
interior life, such as is the aim of the monk in his cell, or the
nun in her cloister. Such a man would not refuse to part
with his daughter, when it was to give her to God 1.
Genevieve, on taking the veil?, adopts the name of St,
Joseph, purposing, no doubt, while placing herself under the
protection of that glorious Saint, to imitate the holy nun who
had lately borne the name with so much edification to the
community,
In 1658, a younger sister, Miss Anne Bourdon, at the age
of fourteen, enters the novitiate of the Ursulines: after her
veiling she is known as Mother Anne of St. Agnes.
1—Miss Marguerite Bourdon, the eldest of the family, and her
younger sister Mary, entered also the religious state, among the
nuns of the Hospital in Quebec.
2—The Journal des Jésuites, published under the supervision of
the Reverend Messrs. Laverdiére and Casgrain,has furnished details
particularly precious for the history of the Monastery: “ Dec. 9th,
1652. Genevieve Bourdon takes the veil at the Ursulines. Father
Bagueneau, Superior, officiates ; Father J. Lalemant says the Mass,
and Father Chatelain yives the sermon.
Madame d’Ailleboust and Mme Bourdon, enter the convent and
dine with the nuns. The Governor, Mr. d’Ailleboust and Mr. Bour-
don dine in our refectory (the latter had furnished the dinner.) At
table were also Rev. M. de St. Sauveur and Rev. A. Vignal, Chaplain
of the Ursulines. Journal des Jésuites.”
80 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
These two angelic young girls have not become nuns “to
pine away and die.” O no! Mother St. Joseph lives to cele-
brate the forty-seventh anniversary of her profession, having
filled all the uffices of the community, except that of superior.
She was oftenest employed at class, where her vigilance, her
zeal, her tender piety, rendered her services invaluable.
Mother Anne of St, Agnes was very precious to her com-
munity, which she was called to govern, later, after those
venerable Mothers who had directe:l her in the paths of per-
fection had been called to their reward,
This is not the place to enter into further details of the
piety, the rare intelligence, the rich endowments of this first
Canadian Superior, whose memory still appeals to the gra-
titude of the community. She lived to the age of seventy.
Miss Mary Boutet de St. Martin, in religion Mother
St. Augustine, who pronounced her vows at seventeen, and
lived to renew the fortieth anniversary of her profession, was
chiefly employed in the institute, for which her talents.
adapted her in a special manner. Proposing to herself our
Saviour in His hidden life, as her model, she had a special
preference for all the laborious and obscure offices, aiding
the lay-sisters, sweeping, and taking care of the little Indian
girls.
The following year, the novitiate received another acqui-
sition in the person of Miss Jeanne Godefroy, who had been
a pupil in the convent from the tender age of six years,
She was one of those little pupils who, on the last night of
December 1650, were driven from their beds at a moment’s
warning, to stand shivering on the snow, while the tire was
consuming the monastery. Her father, Mr. John Godefroy
of Linctot in Normandy, was one of the earliest settlers of
Three Rivers,
ARRIVAL OF BISHOP LAVAL 81
To realize the perils that surrounded these pioneers in the
colonization of Canada, we have only to read the tragic fate
of six members of our novice’s family. Five of her ten
brothers were killed in different encounters with the
Troquois ; her uncle, Thomas Godefroy, was taken prisoner
and burned by those barbarians, whose aim was the total
extermination of the French settlers,
A man capable of maintaining his post, and aiding in such
circumstances to fix the French name upon the soil, might
well be remembered by the “ Grand Roy ” in his distribu-
tion of titles of nobility among the most worthy of his
Canalian subjects, His family obtained these titles in 1688.
Returning to our noyice, who took the name of St, Francis
Xavier, we shall offer here, a picture of the times, in a few
lines from our annals :—“ Our little pupil, from the age of
six years, was remarkable for the precocity of her intelligence,
her happy memory, her brilliant talents. She made rapid
progress in learning her catechism, sacred history, and the
other studies suited to her age. In these early times, the
Fathers of the Society of Jesus used to give public instructions
on Sundays, at which all our boarders assisted. To excite
emulation among them, they were allowed to learn dialogues,
or verses on sacred subjects, Miss Godefroy was the one who
oftenest carried off the prize for application and success.”
Bishop Laval gave her the veil at the age of sixteen, From
that day forward, she never deviated from the path of perfec-
tion upon which she had entered,
Mother St. Francis Xavier was one of those young Sisters,
so ardent to learn the Indian languages, as we have seen in
1662. Her biographical notice would lead us too far, while
it would show us this fervent Ursuline, practising the sweet
virtues of charity and humility, preserving the candor and
6
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82 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
gaiety of her childhood, passing through the laborious offices
of depositary, novice-mistress and mistress-general of the
boarding school.
Another youthful aspirant to the religious life from Three
Rivers, enters in 1665, It is Angelique Poisson, daughter
of the seignior of Gentilly, Her vocation was as precocious
as that of the Misses Bourdon; and her eloquence, like theirs,
enabled her to triumph over the opposition of her mother,
her only surviving parent, She entered the novitiate in her
fifteenth year, to serve the community and edify it to the age
of seventy-nine. The annalist of the convent, tracing a notice
of this beloved Mother Angelique Poisson of St. John the
Evangelist, who died in the office of Superior, makes us share
her admiration of a life so pure, so fervent, so replete with
edification during the space of sixty-four years, which she had
passed in the faithful observance of the rule and the obliga-
tions of the religious state.
These are the five first-fruits of the grace of a religious voca-
tion for the Ursulines in the New World. Won by the sweet
attractions of grace, they turned away from home and kindred,
to serve God more faithfully, living in Him by a life of prayer
and recollection, laboring for Him in purity of intention, in
singleness of heart. Their death was in peace,and their memory
is blessed: who shall say that their sacrifice was in vain, or
their choice unwise ?
Meanwhile, the little community which from the first
year of its foundation was formed of subjects professed in the
two Congregations of Paris and of Bordeaux, had adopted
Regulations, founded on mutual concessions, drawn up by
Mother Mary of the Incarnation with such wisdom, that
it met the approval of ecclesiastical authority, as well as of
their respective congregations in France.
“
he
ARRIVAL OF BISHOP LAVAL 83
Three candidates had been admitted, and had pronounced
their vows under the authority of Father Jerome Lalemant,
Vicar General and Superior of the two communities of
Quebec,—a charge which he continued to exercise even after
the arrival of a bishop, and which he only resigned with his
life, in 1672,
MONSEIGNEUR JEAN FRANCOIS DE LAVAL
Great were the rejoicings in Canada at the arrival of a
Bishop, the Vicar Apostolic of New France, “ He was
received, says a writer of those days, as an angel of consola-
tion sent from Heaven, He had come to gather up the
precious drops of the Blood of Jesus, with the generous
resolve not to spare his own, but to labor in every possible
way for the conversion of the poor Indians.” This noble
scion of the house of Montmorency, Jean Francois de Laval,
was destined to a long and holy career in Canada. Mother
Mary wrote of him soon after his arrival, as follows: ‘“ He
is a man of superior merit and singular virtue, whose abilities
are of the highest order, He is above all human respect,
zealous for the progress of religion and every good work: His
manner of life is so exemplary that every one is in admira-
tion; in short, he is a man chosen by Heaven, an apostle
worthy of all possible consideration.”
In the prolonged uncertainty of a bishop’s appointment to
this distant see, no provision had been made for his accom-
modation ; the nuns were therefore happy to offer him the
house of Madame de la Peltrie. ‘“ We shall be incommoded
certainly, writes Mother Mary, by placing our seminarists in
our class-rooms, but we shall suffer the inconvenience joyfully
on such an occasion. The Bishop will have the enjoyment
of a fine garden. We have put up a high paling, that all
may be according to the rules of the cloister.” Elsewhere it
84 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
is noted that a postulant, Miss Jeanne Godefroy, of Three
Rivers, who had entered the novitiate a few weeks after the
arrival of the bishop, takes the veil in October, with the
~ame of Sister Louisa of St. Francis, The eminent Prelate
presides at the ceremony, gives the sermon, and presents the
novice a purse to pay the cost of her religious costume,
During the two years of the Bishop’s residence in the house
of Madame de la Peltrie, the nuns had the consolation of
assisting at the holy Sacrifice which he celebrated daily in
their new church, when his presence was not required at the
parish church or elsewhere, by a festival or some particular
function,
CPAPTER XIII
1655 - 1665
THE URSULINES AND THE IROQUOIS
CIVILIZATION OF THE INDIANS
Would the Iroquois ambassadors at Quebec in 1655 and’s56,
fail to visit the House of Jesus and the holy virgins, so much
talked of by their Huron captives? And would the Ursulines,
with their experience of such interviews, fail to seize the
occasion to speak of the “great Creator of all things ” to their
swarthy visitors ?
Mother Mary tells us how the sachem, Teharihogen, and
all his company, eighteen stalwart braves, were received at
the convent, and twice regaled splendidly. The se:minarists
were a wonder to inem, especially to see them cared for and
cherished so tenderly by the nuns, to whom they were, by
nature, strangers.
CIVILIZATION OF THE INDIANS 85
Marie Arinadsit who, at the age of eleven, writes in French
as well as in Huron, and sings hymns in three languages, is
a prodigy, and their admiration has no bounds after she has
taught a class of Huron girls in their presence, Marie profits
of the occasion to harangue the sachem, She makes him the
present of a wampum belt to invite him to send the little
Iroquois girls to the convent, and promises to treat them as
if they were her sisters,
Another day, a female sachem comes with all her suite.
Marie recommences with the same success, Mother Mary
of the Incarnation has repeated interviews with Magdalen
and her companions. Before they leave Quebec, their faith
is firm, and they are sufficiently instructed to be baptized.
The ceremony takes place in the convent chapel. “Oh!
what a glad 7’e Dewm was sung on that occasion. Thankful
hearts exulted to see the persecutors of Christianity become
the children of God.” Tine ambassadors and the new Christians,
on their way home, met a large number of their nati» 1, men
and women, at Montreal, and told them so much of the nuns
and their “seminarists ”, that another band came on, impelled
by no other motive but to see the “ sights” at Quebec. They
also were welcomed at the convent. The women were
admitted to the class-rooms of the seminarists, to be regaled
and entertained like the former visitors,
The nuns were delighted with the females of that nation
whose warriors were a terror to the country. Mother Mary
pronounces them the gentlest creatures in the world, and
often expresses the wish to see a class of young Iroquois
girls in her convent, This wish was destined to be fulfilled,
as we shall see later, The noble Magdalen, who has come
so far to be instructed and baptized, might herself be consi-
dered as the first seminarist.
86 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
This fervent Christian, returning to her country with
Mother Mary’s holy words still ringing in her heart, proved
faithful to the graces she had received, To aid the missionary,
Father Dablon, in acquiring the language, she remains hours
by hie side, a willing and patient teacher. She is a missionary
herself. Fearless of the ridicule and contempt to which she
is exposed by filling an office considered unworthy of her
rank, she goes daily from cabin to cabin to call the C iristians
to prayer. She sings at mass with the Huron captives, and
in all things lives up to the teachings of her religion. When
Father Chaumonot writes, she begs him to tell Mother Mary
of the Incarnation that she will ever be faithful to prayer>
and renews her promise to send her sister to the convent.
At a later period, when persecuted by her unbelieving rela-
tions, her faith never wavered, and her death was as consoling
as her life had been edifying.
While the fearless missionaries were in the midst of the
Iroquois country, an assembly was held in which the Ursu-
lines took part through the missionaries, who spoke for them,
offering a present, in the style of the country, to invite the
Indian braves to send their daughters to the convent.
But the pagan Iroquois was the personification of deceit
and treachery. Five years! after the visit of the ambassadors,
alluded to above, the Iroquois were again expected at the
convent but not as friendly visitors. The monastery had
become a fortress, not merely by a figure of speech, in the
Indian style, but in reality.
1—This interval of five years was one of alternate hope and
anxiety throughout the colony. The Iroquois, having dispersed
the Neutral nation and destroyed the Eries, were still pursuing,
under treacherous pretexts of friendship, the Algonquins and the
remnant of the Hurons. The reader will not expect to find here
details regarding these wars—which properly belong to the history
of Canada.
CIVILIZATION OF THE INDIANS 87
This episode, which belongs to the year 1660, must not
be omitted, No one had forgetten the hostile flotilla, which
had passed under the very cannons of the fort (1656), to fall
upon the Hurons on the Island of Orleans, killing some and
bearing off nearly a hundred into captivity. This daring act
was achieved by the Mohawks, the most intractable of all the
Troquois tribes.
Large bodies of these fierce marauders were threatening
the French settlements. Hamlets were pillaged and burned,
whole families were cut off. A prisoner, taken by the French,
revealed the plans of his countrymen, declaring that an army
of eight hundred or more was pressing on, to surprise Quebec.
“Let us cut off the head,” said they, “then we shall have
easy work of the members, Let us strike Ononthio.” The
enemy was not farther off than Three Rivers. No time was
to be lost. The danger from these barbarians was thought
to be so imminent that the Bishop came for the Ursulines,
and conducted them with their pupils to the Jesuits’ build-
‘ings, which had been prepared as a fortress, The Hospital
nuns were provided for with the same solicitude. Mother
Mary of the Incarnation, ever intrepid in the hour of danger,
remained with three of her nuns, not to leave the house at
the mercy of the soldiers, Every morning, at six o’clock, the
nuns returned to their respective convents, which the soldiers
guarded, and which were rapidly transformed into fortresses,
The windows were walled up to the middle and provided
with beams and Joop-holes. Redoubts were erected in various
directions, the only egress left free was a postern-gate with
its turnstile.
Add to this, two guard-houses, regularly mounted by a
guard of twenty-four resolute men, to whom were associated,
at night, for the out-posts, twelve French blood-hounds and
we shall have some idea of the martial air of the monastery
88 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
during eight days of that month of June, The fortifications
were maintained during five months, but the inmates of the
monastery were left undisturbed.
Once there was a sudden alert. The Iroquois were certainly
in sight. In less than half an hour, every thing was in
readiness to give them « terrible reception: Mother Mary
and her aids had distributed the ammunition; every soldier
was at his post. Happily, it was a false alarm, no enemy
appeared. Luter, it was known that the colony had been
saved by the heroic devotion of Dollard and his seventeen
companions, with a party of Hurons from Quebec, who within
their little fort, had so weakened an army of seven hundred
Troquois that they came no farther, :
Another of the Venerable Mother’s letters shews us the
state of the colony in the fall of 1660. Her appreciations are,
as usual, just, and her resolutions full of intrepidity. She
writes: “ Father Lejeune has gone to France to demand
succor ; it is to be hoped His Majesty will not refuse it. If
these barvarians are not humbled, they will destroy the
colony. There is no assurance in their treaties of peace,
which they only make in order to gain time, Our French-
men and Christian Indians, taken prisoners last spring,
have been put to death with horrible torments—their limbs
mutilated, their flesh cut to pieces ; finally they were burnt
in a slow fire. The last one who was tormented thus, threw
himself on his knees each time that a joint of his fingers was
cut off, to thank God and bless Him for his sufferings,
“ While the country is in this deplorable state, perhaps our
Mothers will be anxious about us and wish to have us
return to France. Should this be the case, do your best,
my dear son, to prevent it, We are not afraid. Although
the intention of our enemies is to destroy us, I have a firm
confidence that the design of God is to ensure the stability
CIVILIZATION OF THE INDIANS 89
of the colony, and to render this new Church victorious over
her enemies. Adieu for this year.”
Once more the words of our Venerable Mother prove
prophetic. The ruin of the country, prevented in 1660 by
the heroic sacrifice of Dollard and his followers, was still the
object of the Iroquois warriors in their frequent and bloody
incursions, while awaiting an opportunity for a general
attack, On the other hand, the liquor traffic, so unscrupul-
ously pursued by the traders, was undermining the very
bases of faith and morality among the converted Indians,
when once more the Hand of God was seen providing a
remedy for all these evils, An extraordinary heaving and
disruption of the soil, in a continued series of earthquakes
and other strange phenomena, sent a wholesome alarm into
the consciences of the prevaricators, while on the other
hand, the king of France was inspired with better counsel
for the government of Canada,
The voice of the holy Bishop Laval had prevailed. A new
governor, disposed to put salutary laws in force, was named, and
a Viceroy appointed to settle the affairs of the distracted colony,
as well as to humble and punish the hostile Iroquois, with
whom no treaty of peace could be lasting. In 1665, by the
united efforts of the Viceroy and M. Talon the Royal Inten-
dant, the expedition against these ferocious enemies was
successful, and was followed by a period of comparative peace
and security.
Thus was it given to our Venerable Mother to witness,
during the last years of her laborious career, the removal of
the chief obstacle to the prosperity of her dear adopted country
and to the spread of Christianity.
It was an act of policy in the French monarch, no doubt,
as well as of benevolence, when in 1668, he signified to his
90 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
_
lieutenants in New France, that the Indians should be
civilized, It would be the means of assuring their welfare,
while it would consolidate his power, forming of all those
nations one vast empire. But, was the project of civilizing
the aborigenes of America practicable? During half a century
the missionaries had converted thousands to the Faith. They
could say: “ Experience has proved that the Indians are as
capable as the most civilized nation in Europe, of under-
standing and practising all that relates to piety and the service
of God. They are perfectly instructed in the Christian doctrine.
They know the ordinary prayers of a Christian, the com-
mandments of God and of the Church; they approach the
sacraments with piety and edification, Even children of the
most tender age are susceptible of the impressions of faith.”
Thus writes Father Fremin, in 1669, in reference to the
Mohawks. In all the preceding years, the Relations render
similar testimonies with regard to the other Indians of North
America.
“ The Gospel knows no distinction of Greek or barbarian,
bond or free.” The converted Indian, retaining the rude
blanket and moccasin, the wigwam for his home, and hunting
for his profession, is no less the child of God and an heir of
heaven than the trader to whom he sells his furs, or the
gentleman of rank and education who wears them.
Mother Mary of the Incarnation, like the missionaries,
had already formed her opinion, grounded on experience.
She pictures the liberty of the Indian mode of life, “‘ which
is so delightful to those who are accustomed to it, that it
requires almost a miracle to detach them from it. It is far
easier, she says, for a Frenchman to become a savage, than
for a savage to adopt the customs of civilized nations.”
CIVILIZATION OF THE INDIANS 91
But the project of civilizing the Indians having received
the royal sanction, the experiment must be fairly tested.
Bishop Laval had been too long in the country to have much
confidence in its success, but in compliance with the royal
will, he received six Huron boys into his seminary, to be
brought up with the French students. The Jesuit Fathers
took other boys into their college. The Intendant Talon,
placed five young Iroquois girls at the convent for a similar
purpose. On this subject Mother Mary says: “ If it be the
will of our Sovereign, we shall undertake the task through
obedience and for the glory of God. Nevertheless it is a
very difficult thing, if it is not an impossibility, to civilize
them. We have more experience on this head than any one
else, and we freely avow that of the great number whom we
have instructed, we have hardly civilized one in a hundred.
We have found them docile and intelligent, but they have
not the constancy to remain with us after a certain time.
They must see the woods, They must follow their parents
to the chase, and they find more pleasure in their wigwams
than in our fine houses. It is the nature of the Indian; he
cannot submit to constraint. If deprived of his usual
liberty, he becomes melancholy, and sadness makes him
sick, Besides, the Indians are excessively fond of their
children, and if they see them sad, upon no consideration
will they leave them in that state. We have had them of
different nations, Hurons, Algonquins and Iroquois; these
are the most comely and the most docile ; but are they more
susceptible of being civilized ? Will they retain the polished
manners, and the customs in which we are bringing them
up? I do not expect it, for they are of the Indian race and
that is sufficient.”
This verdict of Mother Mary of the Incarnation has been
sanctioned now by the experience of more than two hundred
92 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
years. The Indians, as a race, have not entered into the
category of civilized nations. Those who live in the neigh-
bourhood of the whites, enjoy more of the comforts of life ;
but, unfortunately, they adopt the vices rather than the
virtues of civilized man. In his vicinity, especially, they
seem destined to an inevitable decrease in population, which
has already ended, in many cases, in the extinction of a
people. In Christianity alone, the Indian has been found
susceptible of “ progress,” capable of “ improvement,”
and even of attaining a high degree of moral excellence.
Many among these simple-hearted people have exclaimed,
like the saintly Catherine Tehgahkwita: “ Who will teach
me what is’ most agreeable to God that I may do it?” The
results of the labors c¢ the missionaries, as well as those of
the nuns within the limits of their sphere, were great, cer-
tainly, since by imparting to these poor people the knowledge
of the true God, and providing them with the means of sal-
vation, they opened heaven to many thousands of immortal
souls,
Nor were these results confined to the period in which they
were achieved. All over the continent, the Indian races have
been found more accessible to Christianity from the time of
the first converted tribes. There are still in Lower Canada,
seven Indian villages, protected by the government, having
schools and chapels; they are not excluded by the law nor
by any prejudice against them, from any calling or profession ;
but to this day, where are their learned men, their men of
business? We may seek them without finding one in a
thousand,—if we may not better say one in ten thousand.
Yet it is well known that Indian tribes, at a distance from
the settlements of the whites, if visited by a missionary a
few times during the year, readily become good Christians
ans
CIVILIZATION OF THE INDIANS 93
and are most faithful to the law of God !. They learn to read
and write ; they know how to sing and pray. They ignore
the vices as well as the enjoyments of civilized life, and in
that ignorance find their security and their happiness.
Our readers will not expect, then, to hear that the Ursu-
lines succeeded, after 1468, in forming young ladies of the
young Indian girls. No! but, in one sense, they did more ;
they formed them to piety, to the virtues of our holy
religion; they sought not to unfit them for that manner of
life for which nature had formed them.
There are always exceptions to general rules, Some of
the pupils, as already mentioned, were susceptible of all the
polish desirable in society. Several respectable Canadian
families may reckon among tieir ancestors some of these
Indian maidens, educated in the convent.
One of the last letters that have been preserved of Mother
Mary (1670) mentions “a fine band of Indian giris, of four
different nations ; Iroquois, Algonquins, Abenakis, and Mon-
tagnais.” “They are our consolation and our delight, she
says, by their docility, rendering our labors so light that we
would not exchange them for all the kingdoms of the earth,”
1—The worthy missionary of the Montagnais of the Saguenay,
Father Arnaud, O. M.I., who has attended them as pastor for the last
twenty-two years, attributes to their being well instructed in the
Christian doctrine and morals, and to their unfrequent intercourse
with the whites, the admirable life they lead. Sin is almost unknown
to them. ‘How can we offend God after all He has done tur us ?”
they say.
94 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
CHAPTER XIV
1665 - 1671
THE INMATES OF THE MONASTERY AGAIN
The residence of the Viceroy during nearly two years in
Quebec could not fail to furnish incidents that would be
remembered in the cloister. Our old books relate some which
seem to merit a place here, were it only to give a picture of
life and manners, We must remember that the city itself,
on the arrival of these 1200 soldiers, with five hundred work-
men, and some two hundred farmers with their families, con-
tained only about seventy dwelling-houses. The principal
public monuments to be visited by the strangers, who had
come to protect and strengthen the colony, were the cathe-
dral, with the adjoining seminary of Bishop Laval, the col-
lege of the Jesuits, the monastery of the Ursulines and the
hospital, or Hétel-Dieu. As to the Chateau St-Louis, within
the Fort, that was the residence of the Viceroy and his
household, The Marquis de Tracy, a veteran of seventy
years, of lofty stature and military bearing, had come to per-
sonate royalty on these distant shores, and royalty of the
time of Louis XIV.
Whenever he appeared in public, he was attended by four
pages and followed by six footmen. Twenty-four guards
preceded, and officers of various grades surrounded him, all
apparelled in the bright colors of the military, or in court-
dresses, Let us note one occasion which called out, not only
the military, but the clergy and all the citizens.
The relics of the holy martyrs, St. Felicitas and St, Fla-
vianus, had been sent to the young Church of Canada by the
Holy Father; and the Bishop had ordered a public proces-
THE INMATES OF THE MONASTERY AGAIN 95
sion in their honor, The shrines enclosing the precious relics,
placed on stands elegantly decorated with drapery, lights, and
flowers, were borne by four venerable priests, A sheltering
canopy of scarlet and gold was upheld by the Viceroy, the
Governor de Courcelles, the Intendant Talon, and the agent
of the West India Company, Barrois, The Bishop in ponti-
fical robes followed, with above forty clergymen in surplice,
chasuble and dalmatic. Next came the officers of the
Viceroy’s household, the citizens according to their rank, the
long file of soldiers in full uniform, and finally the mass of
the people and the Indians, The procession paused at the
church of the Ursulines, which doubtless could not contain
all this multitude. The three other churches of the city
were stations, and a fifth had been prepared within the Fort,
Another day, the cathedral was consecrated in the midst
of a similar concourse, with all the imposing ceremonies of
the Roman ritual; this was in July, 1666. In the same
month, at the college of the Jesuits, there was an examina-
tion; degrees were conferred in philosophy and physics, in
presence of the noble personages above mentioned,
But the Marquis de Tracy was not a mere passing visitor
at the Ursulines; he was to them a sincere friend and a
benefactor. For his powerful protection in a matter that
regarded the temporal interests of the community, the Ursu-
lines owe him ‘a lasting debt of gratitude. In debating these
questions, and on many other occasions when the pious
viceroy called upon the Ursulines, he had an opportunity of
appreciating those qualities which gave Mother Mary of the
Incarnation such an ascendency over all who approached
her. On her part, she describes the Marquis as not less
remarkable for his piety and merit than for his rank. His
example, she says, was an inestimable advantage to society,
96 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
and his zeal for the welfare of the colony was boundless,
His departure she regards as a public loss !.
The Ursulines owed to the generosity of the Viceroy the
erection of a chapel dedicated to Saint Anne ? adjoining their
church, which cost him above 2,500 livres,
At his request also, their church was blessed by the
Bishop with the same magnificence as the cathedral,
Passing now to the interior of the monastery, let us view
once more its inmates and examine their labors, Between the
years 1667 and 1670, four young ladies had passed from the
classes to the novitiate, exchanging their own for a religious
name, These were Miss Agnes Duquet, in religion, Sister
Agnes of the Nativity, Marie Madeleine Pinguet of the
Assumption, Marie Marguerite de Lauzon of St. Charles,
and Charlotte Godefroy of the Blessed Sacrament, It appears
that the air of Canada and the régime of the monastery were
specially favorable tolongevity in those times. We have here,
again, four young novices from the age of fifteen to nineteen,
destined like the preceding that we have noticed, to celebrate,
some their fiftieth, and some their sixtieth anniversary of
profession,
Another novice, admitted to her profession in 1669, was
sister LeBer of the Annunciation. Mlle LeBer was born at
Pitre, in Normandy. Her two brothers had sought the wilds
of Canada, like many others, through motives of piety. Marie,
1—Mother Mary mentions the Marquis de Tracy in terms that
mark both her gratitude and her esteem. “ ‘The Marquis de ‘Tracy
is returning to France. It is a great loss to the Church and to all
the colony which has been saved from destruction by his successful
expeditions. For our part we lose the best friend we have had since
we are here.”
2—The devotion @ la bonne Sainte-Anne, “ Good St. Anne” as
our readers well know, is ancient in the country. Their is mention
in the Relations of marvels wrought at her chapel of the “ Petit
Cap,” as early as 1661.
‘E INMATES OF THE MONASTERY AGAIN 97
after the death of her parents in France, joined them, fully
resolved to consecrate herself to God; but she found means,
only at the age of twenty-six, to break the ties that bound
her, She might, with some reason, complain of the long
delay ; but it excites a smile to see that young girl, Miss
Pinguet, tired, at fifteen, of “ hope deferred,” putting on
shoes with heels as high as could be worn, that her size may
no longer be objected to by the nuns, who seem to think her
yet a child, Sister de Lauzon of St. Charles has another way
of proving the maturity of her years, preferring the humblest
occupations of the monastery, serving the little Indian girls,
abasing herself before all, and, far from accepting the services
of a lay-sister, as had been stipulated by her parents, she
often fo..nd means to aid that sister in the manual labor of
her oftice.
While these good sisters were beginning their career an
estimable lay-sister was closing hers. It was sister St.
Laurent, whose merit is sufficiently made known by some
of her last words, “I have thanked God, said she, every day
of my life, for having called me to the humble state of a lay-
sister in an Ursuline Convent. I would not exchange my
veil for the crown of a queen.”
The novices above mentioned were confided to Mother
Mary of the Incarnation, during the years 1667 and 1689,
The community then numbered twenty-two members, and
others, earnestly demanded, were expected from France. The
labors of the institute, at this peviod, necessarily increased
with the increase of the population in the country },
1—The Relations tell of the increasing prosperity of the colony.
The Intendant Talon founded a number of settlements near Quebec.
More than 400 soldiers of the Regiment of Carignan were induced
to settle in the country. The officers who remained; became Cana-
dian Seigneurs.
98 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
We have seen that the limits of the monastery had been
extended by the building of a church where the public was
admitted, with an interior chapel for the nuns and for their
pupils
The state of the seminary for the Indian girls has been
noticed in the preceding chapter, As to the French pupils,
although our catalogues were destroyed with other useful
documents in the second burning of the convent, we may
judge of the number of boarders by the statistics of another
institution in the City, In 1668, the college of the Jesuits
in Quebec was attended by one hundred and twenty stu-
dents, sixty of them being boarders, ! That same year Bishop
Laval opened the classes of his seminary for boys.
Mother Mary of the Incarnation mentions, in 1668, that
the number of pupils is daily increasing, that seven nuns are
constantly occupied teaching in the French classes, while for
other services there are two lay-sisters, ‘ Some pupils
remain six or eight years; others, in the short space of
twelve months, must be taught their prayers, reading and
writing, arithmetic, the Christian doctrine and morals ; in
short, all that is most essential in the education of females,”
Mother Mary may well add: “ A teacher must be unre-
mitting in her efforts to improve every moment, in order to
lay a good foundation of instruction!” Even the poorest
families sent their daughters two or three months, to be
prepared for their first communion, The extern pupils were
numerous; but as they came to the convent only for the
hours of class, the nuns had not the same opportunity of
forming their character as they had with the boarders, Two
years laters we find another remark that is not less signifi-
1—Ferland, Hist. du Canada.
THE INMATES OF THE MONASTERY AGAIN 99
cant, She says: “ The French colony augments notably !.
The great forests formerly inhabited only by wild beasts
begin to be peopled by Christians, Our community is com-
posed of twenty-two nuns; our classes are filled with pupils,
French and Indian. We have been obliged to provide other
class-rooms, and our venerated Prelate has taken the trouble
to write himself to France to procure help for us, He has
asked for two nuns and has appointed a Vicar-General, one
of his friends, to negotiate the matter.” This demand was
soon after found too low, and four were finally obtained, as
will be noticed later.
Our readers, no doubt, would fain form some acquaintance
with those young ladies of the “ olden times,” Unfortunately
we have few notes beyond the brief memoirs of such as
became nuns. Some tiaits of these have already been noticed.
We might have added others: for instance, the precocious
piety of Geneviéve and Anne Bourdon, placed at the Con-
vent at the ages of six and seven; the lovely death of Anne
de Lauzon, upon whom the nuns were called to bestow their
care from the age of three years, Nothing can be more beau-
tiful than the portrait they have left us of this angelic young
creature, called in her sixteenth year to ‘enjoy the company
1—At the same time she mentions the industrial improvements,
introduced by the Intendant, Talon; the tanning of hides, the
weaving of cloth made from hemp, flax and wool, the effort he is
making to have the women learn to spin, and his offer to provide
the materials for teaching the same to the pupils of the convent,
both French and Indian.
A glance at the statistics of the country from 1665 to 167],
shows a rapid increase of population in comparison to the preced-
ing years. Before the first mentioned date, there were not 2,400
Europeans in Canada,., Two years later the population was 5,870,
The historian Ferland remarks the rapid natural increase of the
population in the country. In the course of the year 1671, there
were nearly seven hundred children to baptize.
The population of Canada, in 1684, amounted to 17,000.
100 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
of the angels in heaven. In consideration of her ardent desire
to be admitted to the novitiate, and at her earnest request,
she was dressed for her burial as an Ursuline, and laid beside
the three whose graves were beneath the chapel.
Another young lady for whom a brief memoir has been
traced in our old books for a similar reason, is Miss Marie
des Moulins of Three Rivers, Confided to the nuns at the
age of four, she grew up pious, amiable and intelligent, and
seemed destined to complete the happiness of her excellent
parents in the family circle ; but God had not so ordained.
At the age of fourteen, she, like her companion, Miss de
Lauzon, saw death approaching, and bade hir: welcome. To
the privilege of being waited upon by the nuns in their infir-
amary, she begged them to add that of being buried in the
religious dress. Miss des Moulins also, reposes in the ceme-
tery with the Ursulines deceased.
Other pupils of Mother Mary’s time consecrated their
lives to the service of God in the Hétel-Dieu of Quebec; for
instance, the two Misses Bourdon, Misses Marie Marguerite
and Marie Madeleine Gloria: others in the Hétel-Dieu at
Montreal, as Miss LeDuc, who had greatly edified her c!ass-
mates (1669) at the Ursulines, before returning to edify her
native place by embracing the laborious life of a hospital nun.
Miss Marie Racine had preceded Miss LeDuc in the religious
state. Miss Marie Morin, the first Canadian novice received
at the Hétel-Dieu of Montreal, had also been a model of piety
and amiable deportment while at the Ursulines, desiring
above all things to be a martyr of the Faith. Before attaining
her fourteenth year, she had essayed the state of life in which
she persevered to the age of eighty-two. She left lier com-
munity a lasting memorial of her piety'and her talents, by
writing their annals, a work in which she was engaged till
the.age.of seventy-five.
THE INMATES OF THE MONASTERY AGAIN 101
Let us mention also the Misses Moyen, ove of whom, after
being a captive of the Iroquois, married Major Lambert
Closse, the hero of Montreal. Her sister became the wife of
Captain du Gué of the regiment of Carignan. Miss du Clos,
daughter of the intrepid Madame du Clos!, whose name is
another celebrity of Montreal, was accompanied to the Ursu-
lines by two of her friends, Miss Sailly and Miss LeDuce 2,
Brief as these notes are, they give us an insight into the
sealed book of the past, and enable us to form some estimate
of the institute as it was two hundred and fifty years ago.
As to the qualifications of the teachers of those days, we
know that our beloved Mother Mary of the Incarnation was.
ready to impart to the other Sisters all that could be commu-
nicated. Even in the last months of her life she had a class
of young nuns around her, learning the Indian languages.
She wrote in French several valvable treatises for the use of
the institute, besides a sacred history in Algonquin, a diction-
ary and a catechism in Iroquois, a dictionary in Algonquin,
a catechism in Huron, another catechism and a prayer-book
in Algonquin. She excelled in all kinds of needle-work and
embroidery, as well as in painting and gilding, While she
sanctified these talents by working for the altar, and contri-
buting to the decoration of chapels and churches all over the
country, her young Sisters, as well as the pupils, loved to
]—For many other names of the olden times, the “‘ Heroic Age of
Canada” as they have been called,—see Histoire des Ursulines,
Tome ler.
2—Several Officers of the famed Regiment of Carignan-Saliéres
married in the country, and found “ excellent matches” in the
pupils of the Ursulines. For instance, M.de Sorel married Catherine
LeGardeur de Repentigny, of Quebec (1668); M. Berthier, Marie
LeGardeur (1672) ; M. Chambly, Louise de Launay ; M. Verchéres,
Marie Perrot (1669); M. Gauthier de Varennes, Marie Boucher,
etc., etc.
102 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
take lessons of the amiable Mother, and were happy to aid
her in her toils. Even in sculpture and architecture, this
indetutigable Mother was skilful. It was she who directed
the workmen, employed in decorating the interior of the
church with architectural ornaments, guiding them for the
proportions of the columns, capitals and entablature, as well
as in the minute details of the art.
We have mentioned that other nuns from France had been
invited to join the little community.
News reached the monastery on the 15th September that
a vessel detained at the Ile aux Coudres, by contrary winds,
had Ursulines on board—Ursulines from France! Several of
the nuns knew what it was to be rocked for three months in
one of those wooden prisons, called a merchant-ship—not to
speak of the fare and the accommodations in those days.
As the wind continued contrary, they would, at least, send
them refreshments ; perhaps a smaller vesse] would find its
way against the wind. A little sloop was according’v sent,
with a cordial invitation to accept the protection cf the good
Jesuit Brother Juchereau, the pilot of the bark, and M, de
Dombourg ! who had generously placed himself at the head
of the expedition. Sailors were hired to man the vessel and |
the convent-steward added to the equipment. They were
strong and resolute, “ gens de ceur,” but all their efforts to
make a prompt voyage only enabled them to reach Quebec
on the 19th. We need not ask if the time seemed long, It
gave the voyagers time to remark the beauty of the environs,
already beginning to put on the gay colors of an autumnal
landscape ; the lovely islands among which they were
1--This M. de Dombourg was son of M, Bourdon, and brother of
Mothers St. Joseph and St. Agnes.
of
THE INMATES OF THE MONASTERY AGAIN 103
detained,. Ile-awe-Coudres, Ile-aux-Oies, inhabited even
then ; the fertile Island of Orleans with its pleasant farm-
houses. All along the shores of the St. Lawrence they had
seen villages and hamlets, where thirty years before dark
forests frowned.
Let us meet now upon the wharf, where thirty-two years
before our first Ursulines landed, that missionary band, so
long and anxiously expected, Of these four French ladies,
wearing the black robe of the Ursuline, two are from the
monastery of Bourges: Mother Marie Drouet of Jesus, nine-
teen years professed, and Marie Gibault du Breuil of St.
Joseph, four years professed. Two others are from the
“ great Convent ” of Paris ; it is Mother Marie Le Maire of
the Angels, once a rich Parisian lady, accompanied by a lay-
sister, Mary Dieu of the Resurrection.
Great was the joy of the cloistered family on receiving
this desired accession to their number, not mere young
girls, to be formed to the religious life, but persons of mature
years trained in fervent communities, and ready now for any
labor. Such were the persons demanded by Bishop Laval, by
Mother Mary of the Incarnation and Mother St. Athanasius,
The Jast-named, about fifty years old, was still hale and vigor-
ous ; her elder was past “three score and ten.” The other
two, Mothers St. Croix and St. Clare, who in the offices of
Assistant and Zelatrix, had aided in the government of the
house for the last thirty years, were not younger,
Without anticipating upon the future career of usefulness
of these three Mothers, we shall merely say that all passed
long years in the office of Superior, and not only contributed to
the prosperity of the monastery they had come to aid, but
founded and governed in turn that of Three Rivers.
Our missionaries, while we have been discussing their
merits, have been introduced to their new Sisters, We shall not
104 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
attempt to describe the scene. The two Parisians find one
from their own monastery, Mother St. Athanasius, at the head
of the community, in place of the recent Superior, Mother
Mary of the Incarnation, who has now charge of the novitiate.
The other members are all known to our readers, or soon will
be 1, The pupils, as is usual on such occasions, took an active
part in the welcoming.
A few days later they comply with a general custom, a
sort of by-law for the two communities on similar occasions,
and visit the good hospital-nuns of the Hétel-Dieu. They
do not find a numerous, but a fervent, happy community,.
continuing the labors and emulating the bright examples of
their foundresses,
Our voyagers had also to acquit themselves of a pious vow.
This took them, still accompanied by the amiable Madame
de ia Peltrie, to the statue of the Blessed Virgin, honored in
the chapel of Notre Dame de Foye. They would not, of
course, fail to visit that much-talked-of Huron village, where
Father Chaumonot attends with assiduous care his beloved
exiles 2, now reduced to 150 souls, The aged village-chief,
past his eightieth year, was there, ready to harangue the
“holy virgins” in his most picturesque style, and all these
good Christians invoked upon them a thousand blessings.
Had our voyagers postponed this visit a few weeks, they
might have witnessed an edifying spectacle.
1—See list at the end of the present Chapter.
2— After the Hurons were attacked on the Isle of Orleans by the
Mohawks, in 1656, a part of them voluntarily emigrated to the
country of their enemy, and became incorporated with them: such
was the custom of these nations. The remainder were transferred
to Quebec, and lodged in a fort (on the edge of Mountain Hill)
built for them till peace was restored in 1666; then they removed
about five miles from the city, and founded the mission of Notre
Dame de Foye. Some twenty-five years later they removed to
Lorette, nine miles north of Quebec.
THE INMATES OF THE MONASTERY AGAIN 105
At the commencement of Advent, Mother Mary of the
Incarnation sent the worthy chief a wax figure of the Infaut
Jesus, These simple-hearted people received it as a present
from heaven, Each poor cabin became, in turn, a chapel,
while from week to week their devotions were prolonged
and their acts of virtue, till the Feast of the Purification
closed the Christmas-tide.
In the hamlet of Sillery, our travellers heard the good
Algonquins and Montagnais in their devout chapel, entone,
as they had done thirty-two years before, sweet hymns that
moved strangely the hearts of these French ladies, Yet
what ravages sickness! has made in this once flourishing
mission! The poor Indians are but a handful, compared to
former times, when Madame de la Peltrie had seen happy
groups of romping children follow her, their Ningay, more
fondly than their own mothers. But the kind-hearted,
generous lady, who had done much for Sillery, visits to-day
her poor Indians, her dear former seminarists, for the last
time. Did her good angel whisper to her that she would
return no more? Or did the good squaws, with tearful eyes,
follow wistfully the receding figure of their pious benefactress
as she disappeared for the last time from their hamlet ?
But let us not delay our narrative. Madame de la Peltrie
conducts the good nuns back to the Convent: they have
come tu labor and we shall find them engaged, at once, in
teaching the French classes, while they take lessons from
1—The Algonquin: and Montagnais of Sillery had nearly all
been carried off by the small pox. el. 1670.
From this period Sillery became an Abenaki mission, until a new
site was found for them in 1683, at the falls of the Chaudiére, south
of Quebec,
106 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Mother Mary of the Incarnation in the Indian languages.
The following list will show us their companions :
A LIST OF THE CHOIR-NUNS, IN 1671
(Professed in France. )
Arrival,
Mother Marie Guyart of the Incarnation.,..........ccscsersesereeees 1639
“ Cécile Richer of Ste. Croix. ...cccccscsscssscescetsssseessceeeee 1639
“Anne Le Bugle of St. Clare.........:sssseeee eee cecscoesccceoogs 3640
‘Marguerite de Flecelles of St. Athanasius............+..... 1640
“Anne Le Boue of Our Lady........... seeds setavnerteos:eohsense” ROOM
“Marie de Villiers of St. Andrew......scccccocesceseeeessseeees 1657
“Marie du Breuil of St. Joseph ........csccssececeeceeseeeseeee L671
“Marie Drouet of Jesus.. ovaecavansepenesy redsee vevevecdeooen: BOTS
«Marie Le Maire of the ageless ssowasicagscenaenioatieceaasnes:: WOtE
(Professed in the Monastery of Quebec.)
Profession.
Mother Charlotte Barré of St. Ignatius... iss seadye .. 1648
“Philippe Gertrude de Boulogue of St. Dominic, seccesess 1650
«Marie Geneviéve Bourdon of St. Joseph.......ssceeeeeeee 1654
“ Anne Bourdon of St. Agnes....cccsseseeree patenncetsed pparakes 1660
‘¢ Marie Boutet of St. Augustin... sie swecgesccsvsoceececies LOOL
“Louise Godefroy of St. John the “Weangollete: wee 1668
“Marie Angélique Poisson of St. Francis Mavier.. svdeeees . 1668
“ Agnés Duquet of the Nativity..........cccscssereeserescrrees 1669
«Marie Madeleine Pinguet of the Assumption............. 1669
“Charlotte Godefroy of the Blessed Sacrament............ 1669
“ Marie Le Ber of the Annunciation............ e000 Vai eacaer 1670
‘6 ~=Marie Madeleine de Lauzon of St. Charles.... ....,.+..+ 1672
(Lay-Sisters. )
Sister Catherine Lezeau of St. Ursula,........csscceccssccvsccscsssesse 1648
‘6 Frances Ouén of St. Magdalen...........0000 eesresecees sevevee 1655
“ Antoinette Makinon of St. Martha............scccssseevecccecee 1659
&“ Marie Dodier of the Passion.........cccocssecscesesee: sseveseeee 1660
‘© Marie Dieu of the Resurrection (from Paris)............... 1671
Ke Oooo ©
THE CLOSE OF WELL-SPENT YEARS 107
CHAPTER XV
1671-1672
THE CLOSE OF WELL-SPENT YEARS
The rejoicings with which the nuns newly arrived from
France had been received, had hardly subsided into the calm
of daily life, when a cloud arose to overshadow the Monastery
with sorrow. The favors solicited had been granted: Heaven
now demanded a sacrifice, as unlooked-for as it was severe,
The good foundress who had lived with her beloved Ursulines,
sharing their poverty and their labors, practising the sweet
virtues of humility, gentleness and mortification, which
endeared her to them far more than her generous donations
in their favor, was about to disappear from their midst.
It was early in November, when Madame de la Peltrie
was struck with her last illness: Seven days seemed a short
space for the nuns to prepare to lose her, but to the pious
lady herself, the summons of death brought no terror. She
had no sooner been warned that her malady, a violent attack
of pleurisy, endangered her life, than she occupied herself in
settling her temporal affairs, and signing her will, the royal
Intendant, Talon, with the necessary witnesses, being
present. She took her leave of the Intendant, expressing
her thanks for'his visit with as much ease and presence
of mind, as if the occasion had been an ordinary occurrence.
The last Sacraments, administered by the Vicar General M.
de Berniéres, were to her a source of abundant strength and
consolation, Seeing the nuns in sorrow, surrounding her
with affectionate solicitude, and seeking by a thousand deli-
cate attentions to procure her some alleviation in her suffer-
ings, she was visibly affected, and declared, as Mother St.
108 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Joseph had on her death bed, that God had given her the
promised hundred-fold in this life for all she had abandoned
for His love.
As life ebbed slowly away the hours seemed long to her‘
so ardent were her desires to be forever united to her God,
and often she repeated the words of the Psalmist: “ Lwtatus
sum in his que dicta sunt mihi, in domum Domini ibi-
mus :—I rejoice in the words that have been said unto me,
that I shall go into the House of the Lord.”
These words were accomplished in her on the evening of
“the 19th November, 1671, leaving her spiritual daughters
saddened by her loss, yet consoled by a close of life so tran-
quil, so full of the sweet hope of eternal blessedness,
Madame de la Peltrie was sixty-eight years of age; but
the natural vivacity of her character, and the healthful
influence of such occupations as hers had been—exerci-
ses of piety and good wo1ks—are a great preservative
against the ravages of time. No one had ever thought she
was growing old. Her unobtrusive virtues had been an
unfailing source of edification to the good nuns and to all who
knew her; while to the poor and to the missions, she had
been a constant and generous benefactress,
Her funeral obsequies were attended by the Governor and
his suite, with the most distinguished persons of the city, as
well as of the neighborhood, Her loss was universally
de plored; nor were the poor Indians the last in their demon-
strations of sorrow.
Our Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation had
assisted her companion at the hour of her departure from
this world. She seemed to have outlived her only to console
her Sisters, and to animate them by her own example of
perfect resignation to the will of Heaven, Alas! another
and a greater sacrifice would soon be demanded of them.
THE CLOSE OF WELL-SPENT YEARS 109
Early in January a serious malady threatened the precious
life of that beloved Mother for whom each of the nuns would
have gladly given her own,
Overwhelmed with grief, they besought Heaven to spare
them the dreaded sacrifice, and the venerable patient, unable
to refuse them this consolation, joined in their petitions so
far as to say: “ My God, if I may yet be of service to this
little community, I do not refuse the labor nor the fatigue :
Thy will be done.”—‘“ No, my good Mother, that is not
enough, urged the kind Father Lalemant, you must join our
petitions and ask to recover.” Ever obedient, she fulfilled
the injunction, Thus was obtained a few weeks’ respite ;
but it was only a delay. The bilious affection from which
she had suffered severely for eight years past, with a few
intervals of comparative health, had impaired her naturally
strong constitution, and the hour was at hand when it must
fail altogether,
During Holy Week, in the month of April, the Vene-
rable Mother was obliged once more to suffer herself to be
conducted to the infirmary. Her sufferings, which were
intense, only served to unite her soul more closely to God.—
“ Christo confixa sum cruci, Iam crucified with Jesus on
the Cross,”—These words were not a complaint, but the
expression of the joy of her heart. On the 29th of April, she
received the Holy Viaticum and Extreme Unction, entering
from that moment into so intimate a communication with
God that she seemed no longer of earth. While her dear
Sisters, overcome with tender sorrow, surrounded the dying
saint, her tranquil aspect inspired them with higher thoughts ;
that sick-room seemed the porch of heaven. Visitors who
were allowed to behold a spectacle so impressive, spoke low,
and stayed the “ farewell,” they had intended to pronounce, |
110 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Mother St, Athanasius, whose grief, intensified by that of
each of her Sisters, rendered her the more thoughtful of all
who, with her, would soon mourn their dearest friend,
reminded her of her son, and asked a message for him,
Mother Mary of the Incarnation, recalled a moment to earth
by maternal love, answered with emotion: “ Tell him that I
bear him away with me in my heart. In heaven I will ask
for his perfect sanctification.”
Already, several times, the boarders, French and Indian,
had knelt around to receive her blessing. On the morning of
the day of her death, having asked to see once more her dear
seminarists, she spoke to them admirably in their own lan-
guage, on the beauty of the Christian doctrine and the happi-
ness of serving God, and gave them, with effusion, her last
blessing.
From noon to six o’clock in the evening, she remained
absorbed in God, speechless, yet conscious, awaiting in peace
the moment of her departure. The nuns, kneeling beside their
dying Mother and friend, felt the tranquilizing influence of
those marks of predestination which transformed the chamber
of death, to a sanctuary,
The 30th of April was drawing to a close. The Venerable
Mother will soon hear the welcome summons: “ Come,
faithful soul! enter into the joy of the Lord,” She opened
her dying eyes upon her beloved Sisters with a look full of
love, as if to bless them and say “adieu,” One feeble sigh
was heard. Life was over. ‘The spirit, disenthralled, had sped
on wings of love to the bosom of its God.
That moment, so overwhelming to surviving friends, when
suspense has yielded to certainty, when the last sigh has
dispelled the secret hope that life would yet be prolonged,
_ was not followed by an outburst of grief and lamentation. A
ray of immortality seemed to illumine the features of the
THE CLOSE OF WELL-SPENT YEARS 111
departed, and heavenly consolations filled the hearts of those
who wept an irreparable loss,
The Venerable Mother had expired at the age of seventy-
two years !, thirty-three of which had been spent in Canada,
The intelligence of her decease was received in the city
and throughout the colony, with sentiments that corres-
ponded to the universal esteem in which she was aeld, and
the gratitude which almost every family owed her,
On the day of her burial, that veteran of the sanctuary,
Father Lalemant, now seventy-nine years of age, pronounced
the panegyric of the deceased, applying to her the attributes
of the “ valiant woman,” as depicted in Scripture. The
church was thronged with a dense concourse, In the midst of
the mourners, as the whole audience might be called, were the
Governor de Courcelles and the Royal Intendant. It was at
their request chat the coffin was not lowered into the grave
before an artist had been employed to transfer to canvas, if
possible, some trace of that celestial beauty which struck the
beholders with veneration.
Our readers will not expect to find here a biographical
notice of Venerable Mother Marie de |’Incarnation. The bare
enumeration of her remarkable qualities, the heroic virtues, the
marvels of grace that constituted her interior life, and which
have made her, according to Bossuet, the “Teresa of the New
World,” would require many pages.
It suffices to have read even the briefest sketch of her life to
remark her wonderful and versatile talents, the thoroughness
of her character, her unerring and enlightened judgment ;
the extraordinary powers of her well-balanced mind, At the
same time one is struck with her spirit of self-sacrifice, her
utter reliance upon Providence, which was only equalled by
/
1—She was born Oct. 28th, 1599.
112 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
her vast charity, and her insatiable zeal for the salvation of
souls, The wonderful extension of the Faith during the last
years of her life, consoled her in proportion to the interior mar-
tyrdom she had suffered, while she saw the efforts of the mis-
sionaries baffled, and the salvation of the poor pagans retarded,
Christianity was now triumphant throughout the land;
and, if she, in her humility, considered herself and her com-
munity as a mere “ grain of sand ” in the foundation of the
Church of Canada, the object of her solicitude, and of her
burning zeal, by others her labors and her success were appre-
ciated differently.
The illustrious Bishop Laval has written her eulogium,
from which we select one passage. “ Mother Mary of the
Incarnation, having been chosen by God to establish the
Order of St. Ursula in Canada, was endowed with the pleni-
tude of the spirit of that holy Institute, She was a perfect
Superior, anexcellent mistress of novices, and was well qua-
lified for all the offices ina religious community. Her life,
which interiorly was all divine, was so well regulated out-
wardly that she was a living rule for her Sisters, Her
zeal for the salvation of souls, and especially for that of
the poor Indians, was so ardent, that she seemed to embrace
them all within her heart. We do not doubt that to her
prayers are due, in a great mansute, the biatic which the
Church of Canada now enjoys.”
Charlevoix, who wrote her life about fifty years after her
decease, says, that: “ history presents us few women to be
compared to ier.” Of her writings he declares: “ They
prove her to have been one of the most intelligent women of
that century. Every thing is solid in her writings. The
thoughts are just, her assertions never hazarded ; her manner
is original, and her style is marked by that noble simplicity
which few writers attain.”
IN AFTER YEARS 113
We cannot take our leave of the subject without allowing
our readers to hear how the decease of Mother Mary of the
Incarnation and of Madame de la Peltrie, was announced
in the Relation of 1672, ‘The writer, Father LeMercier,
opens a biographical notice of thirty columns in the following
terms :
“ The d_ath of those two illustrious persons is a public
affliction, They were venerated for their virtue and holiness ;
but they were especially cherished and esteemed for having
founded an institution for the instruction of female youth,
both French and Indian, thereby contributing greatly to the
solid establishment and progress of the colony of New
France, These two holy souls burned with the same zeal,
and had no other object in view but to live and die in the
love of God, and, at the peril of their lives, to cause Him to
be known and loved by the people of this New World },”
CHAPTER XVI
1675 = 1682
IN AFTER YEARS
The Venerable Mother, whose labors had extended over
the thirty-three first years of the Ursuline Monastery, had
disappeared from the midst of her beloved family, and her
1—Two years previous, the same Father had written: “ It is an
inestimable happiness for Canada to have possessed, since thirty
years, the religious houses of the Ursulines and the Hospital-nuns,
These two institutions were necessary here, and the nuns have
acquitted themselves with honor and with merit of all that God or
man could demand of them, in the discharge of tne duties of their
respective callings.”’
8
114 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
death had left a void that could not be filled. But the benef-
icent influence of her admirable life remained, Her dying
blessing, with the rich inheritance of her zeal for the glory
of God and the salvation of souls, restea there, and her spirit
still dwelt with those whom Providence had assembled to
continue the work she had commenced.
Who were those favored souls, chosen to perpetuate the
spirit and the labors of the Venerable Mother Mary of the
Incarnation ? What are the vicissitudes which the Monas-
tery was destined to witness in subsequent years ? To answer
these questions, we shall again open, in favor of our readers,
that old record of by-gone days, the monastic annals.
There we find recounted the triumphs of divine grace in
the call to a religious life, and in the faithful correspondence
of the soul to its sublime vocation. There are detailed the
simple, yet heartfelt joys of the cloister, with its toils, its pro-
vidential trials and occasional sufferings, its pious enterprises,
and other incidents that vary the even flow of the stream of
time within the protecting walls of the monastery. There
we may perceive, at all times, a deep under-current of peace,
the sure indication of detachment from earth, and of hopes
tixed on things above.
Revisiting the monastery three years after the death of
the Venerable Mother, 1675, we learn that the aged Jesuit
who assisted her in her last moments, Father Jerome Lale-
mant, only survived her a few months, and he has been
succeeded in the double office of chaplain and director by
another member of the Society of Jesus, Father Beschefer.
Consulting next the statistics of the monastery, we find that
twenty-five professed nuns compose the cloistered family,
the Superior bei~« still Mother de Flecelles of St. Atha-
nasius, Two new members have just entered: Miss de
* Lauson, daughter of the Seneschal de Lauson, and grand-
y ’ r
4 , Tae het kas “ii ¥
Vie Bi As oe Oe ler ee Pd WOR ae 8 Ta Oe ee ee ee
IN AFTER YEARS 115
daughter of the former governor of New Fiance of that
name. The other young maiden, from the Cdte de Beaupre,
is Miss Marie Madeleine Gravel, who in the humble condi-
tion of lay-sister, rendered great services to her community
during forty-eight years, and died in the fervor of her first
consecration to God. Up to this date (1675) only four deaths
had occurred in the monastery since 1639, a period of thirty-
six years.
Passing over two winters more, we reach a hallowed
anniversary, the 30th April. It is the fifth recurrence
of the day, since a death, “ precious in the sight of the
Lord,” has rendered it memorable, and far from being invested
with gloom, there is a joyous ceremony prepared for the occa-
sion, A young maiden is abont to enroll herself under the
banner of St. Ursula, exchanging all the pleasures and advan-
tages which the world could offer her, for the title of spouse
of Christ. She will receive, moreover, a name that is also an
inheritance, and Miss Marie Catherine Pinguet will hense-
forth be known as Sister Mary Catherine of the Incarnation.
Two other young ladies are clothed with the dark robe and
white veil of an Ursuline novice before the close of the year.
The names which they will bear in the community, the one
fifty-five and the other seventy years, are Mother Marie-
Madeleine Amiot of the Conception, and Mother Marie-
Anne Anceau of St, Teresa. We shall have occasion to
mentiun, elsewhere, these three worthy Mothers, all of whom
will be found among the Superiors of the monastery, In the
. department of the institute, we find the usual joyous groups
of young French girls, pursuing the pleasant paths of science,
proportioned to the times, to their yearsand condition. There
was also a sufficient number of little Indian girls to form a
class, and these were not cared for with less tenderness than
those, nor with less fruit for their souls,
116 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
It was the time when the diplomatic governor, Count de
Frontenac, seeking to strengthen the influence of the French
over the restless Iroquois, had conceived the plan of adopting
the daughters of their chiefs, after their own fashion, and
placing them in the convent to be instructed, Each time he
made the journey to and from Cataraqui (Kingston), some of
these little dark-eyed girls of the forest were sure to be in
his company. The missionaries also among the Algonquins,
the Abenakis, and the Hurons at Lorette, would send the
most intelligent of their young female neophytes, knowing
the immense benefit it was for the whole tribe, to have among
them one of these pious seminarists, so well instructed in
her religion,
Fragments of old lists that have escaped destruction, are
yet inscribed with the names of some of this ittle class of
forest-girls of 1682-83. Thus: “On the 15th of July, 1682,
Marie Durand, left the seminary (the Indian class is always
thus designated by our Mothers) after having been provided
with board and clothing during the year.
“ Little Barbe, of the Mohawk tribe, who had been in the
seminary six years, has returned to her parents at Old Lorette.”
Other names, at the same date, are: “ Théodosie, Denise,
Geneviéve, Charlotte, Anne-Thérése, Agnes Weskwes (Abe-
nakis),” Evidently, the children of t orest are no longer
numerous at the convent as they were in the earlier times,
Let us make a longer pause at 1682, It is the first of
June, and we find the community disposed to elect a Supe-
rior, their House of Assembly on these occasions being no
other than the chapel where they have first consecrated their
lives to the service of God; their preparato:y consultation, a
three days’ exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, special
IN AFTER YEARS 117
prayers, and finally the Holy Sacrifice of the mass and com-
munion.
Our readers Lave seen the much esteemed Mother St.
Athanasius, and Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation,
during thirty-six years, called alternately to the rank of
Superior by the united voice of their Sisters, Each had held
as from the hand of God, that office of trust and responsib-
ility, which gives its possessor only a larger share of labor
and solicitude for the common weal ; while the title “ Mother,”
or more sweetly “ Our Mother,” reminds her, at each mo-
ment, of the spirit in which she is to wield the sceptre of
authority. Neither had ever forgotten the words of St, Au-
gustine, admonishing the Superior to remember, that “ if she
precedes her Sisters in honor before the world, yet before
God she is bound to place herself humbly at their feet, ren- +
dering herself of good example to all, and esteeming herself
happy, not in the right she has to command, but in the
facility her position affords her to serve and succor her
Sisters in a spirit of charity.”
The code of legislation adopted by the order of St. Ursula
provides further for the welfare ofall its members, by limiting
the offices that entail the greatest amount of fatigue and
responsibility to a term of three years, subject to be prolonged
by a re-election to six years, and not more, without an
interval of repose. Nor is the direction of the little com-
monwealth left to the simple will of the Superior, however
excellent may be her qualifications. She has her “ Consti-
tutions,” to which she must conform in the acts of her
government; she has also her coadjutors, who share, in the
various departments of the mecuastery, the burden of
authority; this is the ‘“ Privy Council,” while the “ Legis-
lature” comprises the whole community of choir-sisters,
after a certain number of years of profession.
118 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
But while we have discussed the form of government, our
nuns have had other preoccupations. They have discovered
that Mother St. Athanasius, obeying the impulse of her
great humility, has provided herself with the right to decline
the rank to which they were so desirous to raise her for the
seventh time. The permission has been given, and the Bishop
refuses to retract it. Grieved, but submissive to the decision
of their ecclesiastical Superior, they proceed to their election.
Another of the French nuns who had joined the Ursulines of
Quebec, in 1671, Mother Marie Drouet of Jesus is called
to succeed Mother Gibault du Breuil of St. Joseph, who had
governed the monastery for the last six years. These two,
with Mother Le Maire of the Angels, will guide the bark of
St. Ursula till the close of the century, in the same spirit as
their predecessors, a spirit of meekness and charity.
Thus, during sixty years and more, the community of
Quebec had the advantage of being guverned by Superiors,
who had imbibed the true principles of religious observance
in the well organized and fervent. convents of the Order in
France. These had been founded at the beginning of the 17th
century, by the daughters of St. Angela, under circumstances
most favorable to the true spirit of her institute, The two
Congregations of Paris and Bordeaux gave rise, directly or
indirectly, before the close of the century, to about two
hundred monasteries: both had contributed to found the
Ursulines of Quebec, the first of the Order in the New World.
Eventually, five nuns of the Congregation of Tours (or
Bordeaux) and seven of Paris, including two lay-sisters, gave
their services to the foundation of this monastery. Six were
yet living at the date with which this chapter closes: their
names will appear more than once in the following pages.
=
2
Se See
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A MEMORABLE DATE 119
CHAPTER XVII
1686
A MEMORABLE DATE
The dimensions of the monastery as rebuilt by Mother
Mary of the Incarnation, with its adjoining church and choir,
had sufficed for some thirty years; but the number of pupils
augmenting with the population of the country, it was resolved,
in the spring of 1686, to build a separate department
for the nuns, in order to appropriate the e~-ster part of the
main building to the use of the boarders,
Accordingly, on the 22nd of June, the ceremony of laying
the corner-stone took place in this wise. ‘“ At one o’clock in
the afternoon, the community being assembled around the
foundations with the pupils, all knelt to sing an anthem in
honor of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Then a little Indian girl,
named Marie-Rose, dressed in white and representing the
Infant Jesus, laid the first stone, upon which had been placed
a medal of the Holy Family, as a perpetual memorial that
this building was in honor of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and
under their powerful protection.”
Little Marie-Rose reminds us of another Indian girl for
whom another ceremony took place that same year. Let us
see what religion could do for a child of the forest. It isa
brief and simple tale, and soon there will be no more to tell,
for the seminaricts are fust disappearing, with their people,
once possessors «. the country we inhabit,
Little Agnes Weskwes belonged to the tribe of the
Abenakis, and to the mission of Bécancour, (opposite Three
Rivers), The good missionary, Father Bigot, S. J., had first
sent the little girl to the convent, to be instructed for her first
120 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
oo ——
communion, at the age of ten or eleven, Agnes was gentle
and attentive to the lessons of her devoted teachers, That
great action which influences the whole life of a Christian,
made a strong impression upon her, and when she returned
to her parents, it was to edify them by her piety, and to
impart to others the holy teachings she had received,
But the forest had lost its charms for her, The rude games
of her young companions could no longer amuse her, as they
moved in cadence to their own wild melodies. The fur robe,
adorned with embroidery, the moccasins, bright with beads,
with which the tender mother sought to win her little
daughter, were of no avail to make her forget the convent.
She was often seen in the direction of the cabin which served
as a chapel. She went there to pray, hoping also to meet
the good missionary, who surely would take her back, some
day, to “the House of Jesus” and to the dear Mothers who
had taught her to love and obey the Great Spirit. Her
importunities were at length successful: an Indian mother
cannot refuse the request of her child, and doubtless the
Black-Robe secretly rejoiced to find one Genevieve among his
flock.
In the early spring of 1686, the little forest-maiden was
again admitted within the cloister ; again she knelt in the
quiet chapel where she had first received the Bread of Life.
Did she, as she approached the holy altar on the feast
of the Annunciation, confide some important secret to her
heavenly Mother ? Did she petition never more to leave her
convent-home ?
Tt may have been so; for a few days later, the wild flower
drooped, as if it felt the rays of the hottest sun. A mortal
sickness had seized the gentle child; and truly it was an
edifying spectacle for the nuns to witness with what patience,
grateful for their least attentions, murmuring words of
A MEMORABLE DATE 121
prayer, she could suffer, Soon, the danger becoming apparent,
the last rites of the Church brought strength for the
supreme moment, and the little Indian girl, on the 5th of
April, breathed forth in peace her pure young soul into the
hands of Him who gave it.
A canoe from the Indian settlement of Becancour was
already on its way to Quebec; for a messenger had been sent
to warn the parents that their Agnes was dangerously ill,
When they reached the convent, it was not to meet their
beloved child; her pallid bier strewed with flowers, awaited
them in the church. Around it knelt many of her compan-
ions, watching the dead and praying for the repose of her
soul, This peaceful and touching sight, joined to the recital
of her happy end, which the nuns, with consoling words,
gave the afflicted parents, moderated their grief.
On the following day, the service was sung with solem-
nity in the convent church, so different from the chapel of the
mission. The voices of the nuns and the pupils mingled in
the burial strains, full of anticipation of the joys of Paradise,
and the procession went forth. It was composed of the clergy
from the parish-church, a goodly number of citizens, as well
as all the Indians in, or around Quebee, and closed with that
virginal bier, borne by the young students of the college, —
Four of the seminarists, in white dresses and flowing veils,
upheld the corners of the muslin pall, while the other little
Indian girls, attired in a similar manner, formed another
group, preceding the mourners. When the parents and friends
of the youthful Agnes witnessed such honors rendered to the
mortal remains of one of their nation, it no doubt tended
much to console them, as wellas to give them a high idea of
that Faith which knows no distinction of race, but embraces
all the children of God in one sentiment of charity.
122 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
For our part, assisting in spirit at this touching ceremony,
we have involuntarily brought to mind the image of Madame
de la Peltrie,and all her love for the poor children of the
forest, for whose salvation she would have willingly given
her life, And it has seemed to us fitting that the last Requiem
Mass, sung in that church which the pious lady had raised,
and where she now reposed, should be for the soul of an
Indian maid,
The catastrophe which we have announced as A MEMorR-
ABLE DATE was not foreshadowed by any sign of approaching
disaster.
The summer season quickly passed, and October came,
That month brings one of those days which, ina community:
resembles a family-gathering: it is the feast of St. Ursula,
patroness of the Order. On such occasions, the divine Office
is chanted with the rites of first-class, High Mass is cele-
brated with solemnity; the whole church is brilliantly adorned;
and the altar glows with lights and flowers, The consecrated
virgins, who follow the banner of the far-famed princess of
Albion, are filled with rejoicing, as they contemplate that
heavenly kingdom, where they too hope one day to follow
the Lamb, and sing that canticle, unknown to all the other
inhabitants of the celestial Jerusalem,
But thoughts far different from these are suggested by the
date of the vigil of that festival, in 1686. It was a Sunday,
and as such, the day formed a part of the approaching solem-
nity, doubling its splendor and its privileges.
Let us, for a moment, picture the aspect of the monastery
on that memorable 20th October. It was not then, the Old
Monastery, but young and fresh, peacefully sheltering its
happy inmates. The previous week, in that early autumn,
had realized the warmth and loveliness of the Indian summer.
ahh.
x ere.
A MEMORABLE DATE 123
Not a tree in that wide-stretching landscape, had yet lost the
wealth of its many-colored and bright-tinted foliage. Embo-
somed in the original forest, the monastery stood like a
country-residence; the sombre hues of its grey stone walls,
contrasting agreeably with the bright green of the still verdant
lawn in front, and the rich hues of its surroundings, To the
left, the pretty church with its heavenward-pointing spire,
gave a finish to the picture, while to the right, the rising
walls of the new building announced the enterprise and
growing prosperity of the establishment.
Within the choir, was assembled, on this early Sunday
morning, the entire population of the monastery. The nuns
were there, kneeling in their stalls, while young girls, from
the age of six to sixteen, and swarthy faces that denote the
forest-children of Canada, filled the lower extremity of the
chapel. Beyond the grating, not a few pious worshippers
offered their prayers in that quiet church, rich in gilding and
tasteful architecture, where the spirit of Madame de la Peltrie
and the Venerable Marie de I’Incarnation seemed still to
dwell. Mass was nearly over, The nuns, in their long man-
tles, had lowered their veils over their faces as they retired
from the Holy Table; it was that blissful moment, the
“thanksgiving ” after Communion, when each in peace and
trust is wont to renew that total sacrifice of herself, implied
in her sacred vows.
Suddenly, a confused sound of human voices and the clang-
or of the parlor-bell, rung as by an impatient hand, startled
the peaceful congregation. Mother Superior quits her place to
answer the unwonted summons, the import of which, in one
moment, was hut too evident. Her rapid footsteps bear her
quickly through the smoke that already filled the passages,
to the extremity of the main building, where a fire had been
124 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
lit in the huge kitchen-chimney of those olden times.—O
terror ! the whole apartment was wrapped in flames !
‘Promptly closing the door through which the smoke was
densely pouring, she hurries back to the chapel, and in a
voice of distress, cries out; “ All is lost! The whole house
is in flames, Get to a place of safety as quickly as possible,”
That sad voice was all that broke the silence of the sacred
i fane. The order was obeyed with one impulse. The pupils,
followed by the nuns, issued from the nearest door into the
court-yard, while the smoke and the seething flames, burst-
ing from doors aud windows, left no doubt as to the argency
of this precipitate flight. The citizens who had given the first
alarm were soon joined, with shouts and lamentations, by all
the population of the city, But, with the fire, a strong wind
from the north had arisen, and the dry pine floors and par-
titions bore swiftly forward the destroying element through
the entire length of the main-building towards the chapel
and church. Seeing the certain ruin that threatened the
whole establishment, all efforts were now directed toward
saving, at least, the vestments, the sacred relics, and the
ie altar-furniture. These were in part secured, with the
| business papers of the community. And yet, at what
risks ! The heroic lay-sister who was transporting the rich
reliquaries, remained, after every one else had fled from the
danger, till, on a sudden she perceived that the flames had
left her no other egress but through the attic over the church.
She speeds her way, laden with her precious burden, and is
saved from her perilous situation by being helped down
through the windows in the roof! !
1—This brave Sister, whose name was Marie Montmesnil de Ste.
Cécile, was a native of Normandy. She lived fifty-four years after
: i the narrow escape of perishing by fire, related above: she was aged
: 81, at her decease, in 1740.
A MEMORABLE DATE 125
y It was enough that no life was lost, although every thing
else perished, All the movables, including the annals of the
3 convent, valuable books, objects of piety or of usefulness that
a were almost sacred from having belonged to the Venerable
e Mother or her companions; all the stores and provisions, the
" furniture of the school-rooms, beds and clothing, were
d destroyed, as at the first burning of the convent, in the
3, space of a few hours, The mew building, consisting yet of
e unfinished walls, underwent the fate of the rest, though with
t- less damage. The out-houses were included in the destruc-
tion, with the exception of two small buildings, the bake-
house and wash-house ; even these had to be unroofed, in
order to be preserved. One small building, at the distance
of some sixty yards, stood entire ; it was the house of refuge,
left by Madame de la Peltrie, which, thirty-six years before,
had sheltered the community in similar circumstances,
But: who can well imagine the scene, when the flames
having obtained complete mastery, drove all the spectators to
a distance, and revelled there with all the fury of short-lived
triumph. The roof of the main building, with its cross- |
surmounted cupola, had sunk, while the tossing flames rose é
higher and brighter ; but it was on the church that all eyes
were riveted. Its wide arched windows glowed with the
furnace-heat within, when suddenly the spire was enveloped
as with a fiery shroud, Another torrent ran from point to
point along the pine beams of the groaning roof, till the
whole gave way at the same moment with a tremendous
crash, and there remained one glowing heap of ruins, where
an hour before had knelt devout worshippers in peaceful
adoration !
Among the, spectators of this fearful scene, we find three
aged nuns who, at the dead of a winter’s night, thirty-six E
GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
years before, had witnessed the destruction of the first con-
vent, raised on that same spot. Mother St. Athanasius, now
seventy-three years of age, Mother Ste. Croix,alizost four-score,
and Mother St. Ignatius, nearly seventy, knew by sad experi-
ence what it was to be driven from their convent-home by fire.
And how dear those halls, those cells, that choir, the
class-rooms, the very floors where the Venerable Mother Mary
of the Incarnation had trod, must have been to all these her
beloved Sisters, most of whom had lived there many
years under her maternal care! It was like so many relics
doomed to destruction, But grace was not less powerful
on this occasion than on the former, They “ who forsake
parents, or brothers and sisters, houses or lands,” to follow
their Lord, are careful not to suffer their hearts to be cap-
tivated by any thing earthly. So, when the flames had made
a holocaust of the fruit of thirty years’ economy, there was
neither lamentation nor discouragement, At eight o’clock,
on that Sunday morning, the nuns, kneeling in their pious
chapel, had heard the signal of alarm: at one, neither chapel
nor convent remained to shelter them or their pupils, Yet
hear what they have themselves testified of their feelings in
these trying circumstances. “ This calamity, although severe
and unforeseen, hardly moved us, divine grace having so
taken possession of our hearts at that moment, when God
had given Himself to us in His Sacrament of love, that it was
not possible for us to regret the loss of earthly goods.”
Here, pity must give place to admiration. Such sentiments
tell how fully the community had imbibed the spirit of its
saintly foundress, or rather that they too were saints. None
else could be capable of such detachment,
RESTORATION OF THE MONASTERY 127
CHAPTER XVIII
1687 - 1689
RESTORATION OF THE MONASTERY
In the mean time, measures were taken to shelter the
homeless Ursulines. It had been decided, at once, that eight
would remain to guard the beloved site, and to effect the
most urgent repairs, preparing the little mansion that was
left them, to be the future residence of the community.
After High Mass at the cathedral was over, about half past
twelve, the Bishop, Monseigneur de Saint-Valier, and the
chaplain, Father Beschefer, came to escort the others to the
Hdtel-Dieu, where they were received with the utmost cor-
diality. Entering by the hospital, they requested to be con-
ducted to the chapel, where, on bended knees, they entoned
the Lwudate, to thank God for having accomplished His holy
Will in them, by depriving them of every thing. Then they
sang the Memorare to the Blessed Virgin, their Mother and
principal Superior, to beg her assistance and protection.
Finally, before accepting any further rites of hospitality, they
assisted at the holy Sacrifice, offered for them by Father
Beschefer, who had kindly delayed saying his'mass till that
hour “ in order to console them more effectually.” Happy
souls! to whom the consolations of Heaven suffice: never
will you be overcome by earthly trials !
In fact, the courage of our Ursulines seems not to have
faltered one instant. Their income during half a century
would not have sufficed to enable them to rebuild their mon-
astery ; yet, trusting in the assistance of Divine Providence,
they resolved to attempt its reconstruction, and until that
was accomplished, to live there amidst its ruins. The generos-
128 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
ity of friends, on every side, enabled them to effect the first
of these purposes; their own generosity in suffering carried
them through the second.
Let us group a few of the incidents that have been handed
down to us of that period, during which our Mothers had to
contend avith the accumulated difficulties of poverty, sick-
ness, and destitution.
A part of the community, as we have seen, had sung their
perfect act of resignation at the chapel of the Hotel-Dieu,
where they had found hospitality after that disastrous Sunday
morning. Their kind hostesses did not forget, that the follow-
ing day was the feast of St. Ursula, and made immediate
preparations to have High Mass, vespers, sermon and bene-
diction, in favor of their guests. The sermon proved to be a
moving exhortation from Bishop de Saint-Valier, who after
celebrating Mass for the Ursulines and giving them holy
Communion, sought, as he said, to console himself, while
condoling with them, and who seemed indeed more affected
by the sad accident than they were. After such a proof of
the delicate sentiments of the gool Hospitalieres, we are not
surprised that the two communities lived like one, reciting
their office, taking recreation, their meals, and serving the
poor invalids together.
Some of our readers may be surprised to hear that the
Ursulines were also seen at the Chateau St. Louis. It was
deemed proper that the Mother Superior, with some of her
Sisters, should pay her respects to the Marchioness de Denon-
ville, their guides on the occasion being Madame de Villeray
and Madame Bourdon, It is hardly necessary to say that
they were received at the Governor’s with all the kindness
and cordiality imaginable. Taking leave of their friends, the
RESTORATION OF THE MONASTERY 129
Marquis de Denonville and the Marchioness, at about five
o'clock, fhey proceeded to the palace of the Intendant. Here,
they were not less cordially welcomed than at the castle ; but
they had yet another call to make. Bidding adieu to Madame
Champigny, they followed the streets back to their home; and,
alighting from their carriage, they went in to wish a
“ good evening” to their Sisters, the eight who had been left
in possession of the house of Madame de la Peltrie, When
they at last entered the Hotel-Dieu at six o’clock, “ the
peace of the cloister seemed delightful after such a day of
fatigue and dissipation !”
On the 7th of November, the convent of the Ursulines,
as the house of Madame de la Peltrie was now styled, was
in readiness, and the exiles prepared to return, The chari-
table importunities of their kind hostesses were unavailing
to retain them longer; so, amid good wishes on the one side
and sincere protestations of lasting gratitude on the other,
they said farewell, though not without tears. Three of the
good hospital-nuns were authorized to accompany the Ursu-
lines, and visit with them the other religious institutions of
the city. The walk, thus extended, took them first to the
Seminary, where the illustrious Bishop Laval lived with his
community of priests and levites, in the poverty, fervor and
simplicity of the apostolic times, Thence, they passed to the
gardens and to the Little Seminary, where the students
obtained a holiday in their honor, The cathedral came next,
then the college of the Jesuits, Finally, entering the chapel
of the Congreyation, they sang an anthem to the Blessed
Virgin, and continued their way, always conducted by the
Bishop, their Superior M, de Maizerets (of the Seminary),
and Father Beschefer.
9
180 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
The procession had lengthened with the road, till if re-
sembled a triumphal march, The door of their little cOnvent,
at last, opened before them, and the crowd disappeared as
the nuns entered the narrow apartments provided for their
reception. The walls had not grown wider, and if partitions
had separated the lower story into a kitchen and a refectory,
the other, above, retained its full dimensions, (thirty feet by
twenty), in order to accommodate twenty-eight persons with
a dormitory.
A little chapel and choir had been fashioned, not in the
style of the Renaissance, but in that of the Naissance, the
grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem. It was a small building
which had formerly served as a barn or stable. This, with the
other “improvements ” around, seemed to move the company
nm. -¢ to compassion than to admiration. “ My good Sisters, I
see every thing prepared here to make you suffer,” remarked
the kind-hearted Bishop. “For our part, says the annalist,
our joy was apparent to all, so delighted were we to find
ourselves again reunited.” KHece quam bonum et quam
jucundum habitare fratres in unum, Yes! it is a good
and pleasant thing for brethren (or sisters) to dwell together
in unity.”
If the hour of adversity is the hour to know one’s friends,
our Mothers had reason to congratulate themselves on the
number, the liberality and devotedness of theirs. While the
smoke was yet rising from the ruins of the monastery, the
Bishop had addressed himself in their behalf to the faithful,
assembled in the cathedral for High Mass. Soon after, he
issued a circular, informing the clergy throughout the diocese
of the accident “ which, he said, interested the whole country,
and was of itself sufficient to excite their parishioners,
ee ees So a Ct ler PR ey SL Seg MEE SD a LP Sea SER cr tg ee
RESTORATION OF THE MONASTERY 131
through gratitude and affection, to render all the assistance
in their power towards repairing the disaster.”
For his part, he contributed, at once, three thousand franes ;
and, during his absence in France, he pleaded the cause of
his afflicted daughters so efficaciously that the annals name
him as their chief benefactor in the re-establishment of their
monastery. The Marquis de Denonville’s first offering was a
thousand francs; while the Marchioness made it her duty
to go from door to door through the city, collecting for her
dear Ursulines, to whom she brought daily, with her sympa-
thy, the fruit of her charity.
The Fathers of the Society of Jesus, after their first offering
of a thousand franes, donated, for five or six times that value,
in goods and provisions, The members of the Seminary
and the Intendant contributed with equal generosity The
citizens of Quebec, and the principal families throughout the
country, gave aid according to their means. The Ursulines of
Paris and the other houses of the Order, the relatives of the
nuns there, especially the LeMaire family, and the de Fle-
celles, again, on this occasion, as in 1651-52, sent liberal
sums to the poor Ursulines in Canada,
The winter passed away in providing the most needful
articles of clothing, and in plying diligently the needle in
such dainty embroidery as would bring, by its sale, some
profits to lessen the necessity for daily alms.
Early in spring, the labors of rebuilding were commenced,
under the skilful direction of Father F. Raffeix S. J., while
the nuns invited to their humble chapel the little girls of
the city fur the instructions of the first Communion. As
soon as the snow commenced to disappear, they made prepa-
rations for opening a class for day-pupils, by putting up a sort
of shed, near the spot where lately stood that precious memo-
.
132 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
rial of the past, the “old ash-tree.”! This was no sooner in
readiness than fifty or sixty pupils assembled, and the Ursu-
lines found labor congenial to their profession.
But, as the adage tells : “ Misfortunes never comme single.”
If already the heat of summer rendered their narrow lody-
ings most uncomfortable, what would it be in sickness? A
contagious inalady, the measles, was raging in the city.
After attacking the pupils, it fell upon the teachers, and it
was necessary to have aninfirmary, A small building, serving
as a wash-house, was forthwith accommodated for this pur-
pose, and thither the sick were removed and attended, till
nearly the whole community had paid tribute to the unwel-
come visitor, The month of September brought with it the
mortal illness of the venerable Mother Cecile de la Croix,
now seventy-eight years of age. Her vigorous constitution
had enabled her to bear a large share of the hardships of the
foundation in the early times, and to continue her services
forty-eight years, edifying the community by her humility,her
charity, and her fidelity to all the observances of the religious
life, The offices that she regarded with dread, were those of
assistant-superior and mistress of novices, to which she was
‘called more than once, and for which she was well qualified,
in every one’s opinion but her own, She loved far better to
‘be employed at the extern school, where the poorest of the
-children were her special delight. “ In short, says the annalist,
she was a true Ursuline.”
1~-That venerable relic of the primitive forest was still a magni-
ficent tree at the 20Uth anniversary of the foundation of the con-
‘vent (1839). It lost one of its principal branches a few years later,
and, finally, in the month of August, 1868, was laid prostrate by a
.storm.
RESTORATION OF THE MONASTERY 183:
The ardors of a burning fever consumed what little remained
of her strength, while during three weeks she was attended
in that miserable hovel, with love and boundless compassion.
It is the survivors we most pity, when for the bier of their
beloved Mother, they could find no better place than the porch
of that poor little chapel, no more fitting locality for her
grave than the ruins of their former‘lovely choir! To add to.
the sadness of the burial ceremony, a heavy autumnal rain
came pouring its waters over the funeral cortege, as they
bore the dear remains across the open court to the last resting-
place of the dead.
The generous resignation with which the nuns had accepted
the affliction sent them in the burning of their monastery,
seems to have extended its soothing influence to this whole -
period of privation and suffering. “ During this year, says
the annalist, in order to second the designs of divine Provid-
ence over us, each one strove to advance in virtue by the
practice of mortification and penance. Daily prayers and
thanksgivings were offered to God for the succor and aid He
sent us, as well as to implore His protection for our bene-
factors. Among other prayers, the Litanies of the Saints
were recited every day, with the suffrages marked for the
Rogation-days, The anniversary of the conflagration, the 20th
October, was a day of special devotion and fervor. In the
morning there was general communion ; in the afternoon, we
went around the ruins in procession, singing the Litany of
the Blessed Virgin, our Mother and Protectress. Our hopes
have not been confounded, for our good Mother has so
watched over us that even in our greatest distress, we have
never been reduced to want for the necessuries of life.”
Meanwhile the busy scene presented by the plyers of the
trowel, the plane, and the hammer, at vheir respective
“
.
134 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
occupations, gave hopes of better days. In November, the new
building !, finished as to the exterior, offered one large hall,
ready to be occupied, This was at once devoted to the use
of the pupils,the annals marking with characteristic precision,
that “twelve months and nineteen days after their accident,
they were enabled to admit boarders again.”
During the winter, the workmen continued their labors in
the interior of the building with such success, that on the
18th of May (1688), the house was solemnly blessed, and
dedicated to the Holy Family '. On the following day, the
nuns were occupied in removing to their new apartments,
It must have been a joyful exchange to them, especially to
see the tnirteen most aged among them provided with cells
for their nightly rest, instead of a narrow space measured off
by inches in a common dormitory,
The humble temporary chapel, after serving for Mass
and the divine Office during eighteen months, after wit-
nessing the profession of a fervent novice, Miss Jusche-
reau, and the funeral of the venerable Mother Ste. Croix, the
renovation of vows, and the exposition of the Blessed
Sacrament several times, was abandoned for the large hall,
* already mentioned, in the lower story of the new building.
The restoration of the main building, which gave another
chapel, with the apartments necessary for regular observance:
i—This wing, 60 French feet by 25, was destined as a habitation
for the nuns ; the pupils occupied the “large hall” only till the
next spring (May), when they removed to the apartments which
the nuns then quitted, in the house of Madame de la Peltrie.
2—This apartment, beneath the community-hall which served
as a chapel thirteen months, has become historical since its occu-
pation by General Murray for the sessions of his council, military
and civil, in 1759. Later, it was occupied as a laundry or clothes-
room, until 1875.
Pe ge cred Seer Mine nee eee A Pee SOL ig | ENS een oan PES fe ete vo *
ie a? Pe” sea
RESTORATION OF THE MONASTERY 135
community-hall, refectory, infirmary, additional cells, &c.,
was accomplished in the course of the same year (1688),
The ancient choir was rebuilt and divided into class-rooms
for the boardersin 1689', and this permitted the house of
Madame de la Peltrie to be occupied again as a school for the
day-pupils,
ee
1—7his building, as reconstructed in 1689,served for class-rooms,
refectory, &c., for the boarders until 1834, when new apartments
having been provided for them by an additional story the whole
length of the main building, the old classes were occupied by the
half-boarders. In 1874 this old building was demolished and replaced
by another, of greater dimensions and four stories high.
GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
BOOK II
DURING SEVENTY YEARS — 1689-1759
CHAPTER I
1689
CLOSE OF THE FIRST HALF-CENTURY
The events we have had to record thus far have pre-
sented enough of “ life’s chequered scenes ” to prove that
this edifice, destined to be lasting, had for its firm foundation
the sacred Wood of the Cross, The monastery, newly restored
after a second burning, again sheltered the cloistered family,
who felt they had much to be thankful for in the past, much
to hope from the protecting care of Providence in the future,
In their recent misfortune, they had experienced prompt and
generous sympathy ; all classes of society rejoiced to see the
convent not only rebuilt, but enlarged!, The church, alone,
had not risen from its ruins.
1—The wing, called “ La Sainte-Famille,” had been extended
towards the south-west, 30) feet by 38. It joined the main-building,
affording a kitchen and its dependencies, an infirmary, etc. The |
corner-stone was laid on the 19th July, 1687, by Mademoiselle de
Denonville, then a boarder, daughter of the Governor of the Colony,
Sigariripahy Mee:
long be thus infringed upon, their little chapel with the
138 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
The date of this restoration, moreover, coincided with the
fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of the first Ursulines in
Canada,
The community numbered now thirty-four members ; ten
others, including the three foundresses, had, during that
space of time, passed to their reward.
No other year in those early times seems to have been so .
fertile in vocations for the cloister, as 1689. Twice the
touching ceremony of “ taking the veil,” was witnessed in
the temporary chapel beneath the present community-hall,
On both occasions, Bishop Saint-Valier officiated, assisted by
his clergy and some of the Fathers of the Society of Jesus,
The Marquis de Denonville, the Intendant, and their suite
were also present, the new “ brides of Jesus,” being Miss
Elizabeth d’Ailleboust and Miss Louise-Rose de Lanaudiére,
henceforth known as Mother Marie de la Croix and Mother
St. Catherine.
After the ceremony was over, the company were further
gratified by being allowed to visit the interior of the
monastery; those cells which, with their humble furniture,
bare walls, and narrow door with wooden latch, still excite
the curiosity, or admiration of the rare visitors permitted to
behold them ; that community-hall, with its deep-channelled
oaken wainscot, its plain benches around, instead of chairs,
wearing yet much the same aspect as it did two hundred
years ago. Of the refectory and chapel, we shall soon
have further occasion to speak. So well did the company
enjoy the treat, that it was almost six o’clock before the
cloistered grounds, the park and gardens, had regained their
wonted look of repose and quietude. The good nuns consoled
themselves with the thought that their cloister would not
DROLET RIOR Oe Se Pas
CLOSE OF THE HALF-CENTURY 139
part destined to the use of the public, being nearly in readi-
ness for divine service,
Four other young ladies, at the early age of fifteen and
sixteen, embalm the new novitiate with the fragrance of their
noble sacrifice, before the close of that fiftieth year under
consideration, These novices were the Misses Marie-Anne
tobineau ', de Becancour, Marie Madeleine Gauthier de
Comporté, Marie-Madeleine Drouard and Jeanne Chorel.
On another page of our old record, mention is made of the
episcopal visit, which terminates to the mutual satisfaction
of the Prelate and his spiritual daughters, At the close of
the visitation the sacrament of confirmation was conferred
upon a postulant and about twenty of the boarders, among
whom were several little Indian girls. On the 23rd of June,
the holy Sacrifice was offered for the last time in the tempo-
rary chapel under the community-hall, after which the Blessed
Sacrament was borne, in ceremony, to the new chapel at the
other extremity of the building?, The procession moved
across the grounds through a winding avenue, bordered with
young fir-trees and strewed with flowers. The nuns, bearing
1—Miss Robineau, of Bécancour, daughter of Baron René Robi-
neau, Officer of the Regiment of Turenne, Chevalier of the Order
ot St. Michael. Her mother belonged to the ancient and noble family
LeNeuf de la Potherie.
Miss Gauthier de Comporté, daughter of P. Gauthier, Sieur de
Comporté, and Grand Prévost of Quebec. Her sister, Marie-Anne
de Comporté, made profession five years later.
Miss Drouard, of Bushes, took the name of Mother St. Michael, at
the age of fifteen, and lived to the age of eighty-two.
Miss Chorel de St. Romain was soon joined in the novitiate by her
sister Marie-Frangoise, who was the first to bear the name of Moth@
Marie du Sacré-Cceur (1693).
2—The chapel here mentioned occupied the south-west end of
the main building, with the adjoining apartment to serve as the
choir, precisely as it had been arranged in the earlier times, before
the building of a church by Madame de la Peltrie.
140 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
lighted tapers, led the way, followed by the boarders in
holiday attire. The clergy preceded the Bishop, who bore
with careful step the sacred ciborium, while the hymn Panye
lingua, and the anthem, O sacrum convivium, gave
expression to the sentiments of piety and devotion which
animated their hearts, The first mass celebrated in that little
sanctuary, destined to witness during thirty-four years, the
fervor, the rejoicings, the alarms, and the trials of the Ursu-
lines, was on the feast of St. John the Baptist, 1689.
Long since has that chapel ceased to witness the celebra-
tion of the sacred mysteries, Its original destination is but a
picture of the fancy, evoking the records of the past, Let us
turn, then, to other memorials of those early times, witnesses
to the piety of our first nuns, which are still in good preser-
vation,
Such of our readers as have ever made the convent their
abode, have not failed to notice the ancient statues to which
we allude; they are, apparently, the guardians of the “ House
of Jesus.”
On the 7th of December of that jubilee year, 1689, the
image of the Immaculate Virgin was transported to its sculp-
tured and gilded niche, at the entrance of the community
hall. Another, of St. Joseph, was placed, with the same piety,
on the second landing of the great stairway in the centre of
the building, known as “ St, Augustine’s stairs,” The whole
community walked in procession, singing hymns, while the
stands, covered with flowers, on which the statues were
Placed, were borne to their respective stations
How many times, during the space of two centuries, has the
sight of those statues been to the inhabitants of the cloister,
the signal of a quick thought sent winged to heaven ; here,
CLOSE OF THE HALF-CENTURY 141
by an Ave Joseph, there, by a Tota pulchia es to the Virgin
full of grace and beauty! And how can we recall the memory
of our ancient Mothers,never too poor to find means to manifest
their tender piety towards God and His Saints, without being
moved by a generous impulse to follow closely in their foot-
steps, emulating the holy examples they have left us!
Yet all was not bright and peaceful in that year, 1689, In
the history of Canada, with all its pages of terror and war-
fare, there are none darker with anxiety, The country seemed.
indeed on the brink of a total ruin, The Iroquois, far from
being weakened or disheartened by the long war they had
waged aguinst the French and the allied Indian tribes, rose
bolder and more aggressive after each encounter, The envi-
rons of Montreal were infested with straggling bands of the
blood-thirsty foe. We shall not here revive the gloomy pic-
ture of the massacre of Lachine!, and the other feats of
savage prowess, which rendered the year too sadly memor-
able; but opening that old parchment-bound volume, our
guide in revisiting the scenes of by-gone days, let us see what
record of passing events is there inscribed,
A few days after the attack upon Lachine, the annalist
writes :
“ A terrifying report reached us that Three Rivers had
been laid in blood and ashes by the Iroquois, who were
ravaging all the country around, The news proved false, but
a letter from the Governor, the Marquis de Denonville,
1—In the year 1689, the Iroquois made a fearful onslaught upon
the Island of Montreal with 1400 warriors. Shocking barbarities
were perpetrated on this occasion, which is known in Canadian
history as the ‘‘ Massacre de Lachine.” Within the brief space of
one hour about 200 persons were cruelly butchered, and about the
same number carried off to be subjected to captivity and torture.
142 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
received later, gave undoubted information that he had fifteen
or sixteen hundred Iroquois to contend against; whilst
another party, accompanied by two hundred English colonists,
were waiting to fall upon Three Rivers and the other habita_
tions. This news caused tne greatest consternation at Quebec,
there being only two hundred ahd forty nicn in the city
capable of bearing arms,
“ Major Prévost resolved to do all in his power to fortify
the place. A fort was erected so near the monastery that the
palisade passed through the court yard and garden, Sentinels
were placed on guard at different stations in the city, anda
patrol made the rounds day and night.
“ Figure to yourself, continues the annalist, a city without
walls or gates, whose inhabitants have gone to defend
another place. But we have put our confidence in Him who
alone can deliver us from the impending evils, For this
reason we offer our prayers incessantly to implore the Divine
protection. If God be for us, we have nothing to fear, but if
left to our own rosources, we are lost. This great tribulation
excites every one to penitence. There are daily processions
and other acts of piety, to appease the wrath of God, irritated
by the sins of His people. On the feast of St. Augustine,
we commenced the following devotions, for the preservation
of the country, the humiliation of the Jroquois, and the general
welfare of all classes of socie
1° A weekly communion to be offered for these intentions.
2” The anthem, O salutaris, sung at mass after the eleva-
tion, and the Salve Regina, after Matins,
3° Five of the community, named each week, will offer
prayers for the same intentions, as follows, ‘wo will say the
Oftice of the Imma.ulate Conception before the Blessed
Sacrament ; two others, the Office of St. Joseph ; a lay-sister
will say nine times the Gloria Patri and Ave Maria, All
THE ALARMS OF WAR 143
vie other penitential acts and good works of tite community
will be offered for the same ends, These pracvices of piety
are to be continued the whole year.” ‘
Evidently, our nuns were not idle spectators of the state
of public affairs. Like Moses on the Mount, they had recourse
to prayer, while their brethren battled with the enemy: we
know that, of old, the victory depended more on the prayer
of Moses than on the valor of the Israelites, The Ursulines,
in fact, had need, not only of pious zeal, but of courage also,
for the enemy would not always be at a distance.
CHAPTER II
1690
THE ALARMS OF WAR
When in the security of the present day, one surveys at
leisure the magnificent panorama of the fertile and cultivated
valley of the St. Lawrence, its scattered cottages and hamleis,
peacefully nestling along the borders of the prim. val forest ;
its thriving towns, reposing fearless of an enemy ; the old
Citadel of Quebec dismantled and its batteries at rest, it
may not be an easy matter to bring to mind that far different
picture it presented in by-gone days.
The occasional apparition of an Indian in his characteristic
costume, may recall to mind those times when the wnole
land was peopled witii a brave but savage race, that has
now almost totally disappeared, and we think of the terror
the name of the Iroquois once inspired. The sight of. tt .
English flag reminds us also of a terrible crisis, and we con-
144 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
trast the present security and happiness of the country with
the formers tern and fearful realities of war and blood-shed.
The Ursulines had their share in the consternation which
the name of the Indian and the Englishman, in turn, excited.
That old volume of the annals seems, even now, to shudder
in the recital it makes of the siege of Quebec, in 1690,
Our readers will follow with interest the events already
known to them by history, but which take the coloring of
actuality as our annalist describes the scenes of which she
was an eye-witness,
“On the 7th October, she writes, news was received that
an English fleet of thirty-four vessels was approaching to
take possession of the country, Already, on the second of the
month, the enemy was in sight at Malbaie, This news created
great alarm. Quebec could offer no res‘stance, there being
no soldiers in the city, and but two kindred male citizens,
The Governor, with all the troops, had gone to Montreal to
defend that place against the Iroquois, A canoe was des-
patched immediately to carry him the tidings of this new
danger.
“In the mean time, Major Prévost worked at the fortifica-
tions, Batteries were mounted in the Lower Town, the streets
were barricaded, the inhabitants of the environs were called
upon to aid in the defence. There was a deliberation about send-
ing the two communities of nuns to Montreal; but as no boats
could be procured, it was decided we should go to Lorette.
Four of us were to be sent to make preparations for the rest ;
then, as soon as the enemy’s sails should be in sight, the
others were to follow. A place of concealment was contrived
in the cellar, where we stowed away our linen, stuffs, &c.
We commenced a novena to the Holy Angels and to St.
THE ALARMS OF WAR 145
Joseph, the patron of the country, having mass said every
day in his honor, seeking in every way to appease the Divine
justice and to obtain the favor of God for the country,
“Our prayers were accepted; contrary winds were sent,
so that in nine days the enemy’s vessels did not advance as
much as they might have done in half a day. When the
fleet reached Quebec, which was on the morning of the 16th
October, the city was prepared, having for its defence two
thousand men, including the troops recalled from Montreal
under Count de Frontenac, and the Canadian militia, under
M. de Callieres. The same day, the English captain sent a
herald to summon the Governor to surrender. According to
the insolent terms of the letter, not only the fort, arms, am-
munition and stores, were to be delivered up, but all the
inhabitants of the city were to surrender at discretion, One
hour only was offered for deliberation,
“ The Governor immediately gave the answer they deserved,
namely: ‘That God would not favor those who were traitors
to their king ! and their religion, and that he had ne answer
to give them, but by the mouth of his cannon.’ The herald
was dismissed without further ceremony and the next day
the firing from the fleet commenced, On the 18th, a part of
the English troops landing at Beauport, there was a skirmish
between them and the French militia, with a loss for the
enemy.
“The following days the cannonade was renewed, but
with less effect. On the first day, a cannon-ball burst through
a window-shutter and sash, and ‘finally lodged at the bedside
1—It will be remembered that James II had been driven from
his kingdom, and William III called in to take his place on the
throne of England.
10
146 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
of one of our boarders ; another passed through the apron of
one of our sisters, carrying off the piece. Other balls fell in
the garden, the parks and the court-yards, but, by the pro-
tection of Heaven, no person was injured, Our house was
crowded with people, and the evternat (house of Mme de la
Peltrie) was filled with .urniture and merchandise, placed
there for greater security. The boarders’ department, the
classes for the Indian girls, the refectory and novitiate, with
our three cellars, were filled with the people of the city,
women and children, so that we could hardly pass to and
from our kitchen, but took our food standing, and in haste,
like the Israelites when they ate the Paschal lamb.
“We passed the first night before the Blessed Sacrament,
in prayer. The following nights, some took a little rest in
the sacristy, others in their cells, remaining dressed, awaiting
death at any moment. We had placed in tle choir the
statues of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, before which a taper was
kept burning, while some of the Sisters were constantly
praying shere. We lent, on this occasion, our painting of
the Holy Family, to be exposed on the steeple of the Cathe-
dral, to bear witness that it was under their holy patronage
that we were combating the enemy.
“ Having attempted, in vain, to take the city by assault
on the side of the Little River (the St. Charles), where they
were vigorously repulsed by our Canadians, the enemy
retreated to their damaged ships.”
This was on the 21st of October.
The evil fortune of the invaders pursued then still, during
their perilous navigation homeward, Several of their ships
were lost, and hardships incredible, from want of food and
the inclemency of the weather, attended the squadron to the
THE ALARMS OF WAR 147
port of Boston, which they entered only six weeks after
losing sight of Quebec.
“ The retreat of the enemy left the country in great joy.
The people sought to manifest their gratitude to Heaven,
acknowledging they had no part in the victory, but that it
was (rod’s right Hand that had delivered us, For this end,
the Bishop of Quebec ordered a procession to be made, in
thanksgiving. The image of the Blessed Virgin was borne
successively to the four churches, ending at the cathedral,
where the 7'e Dewm was sung. In the evening there were
bonfires. Moreover, our prelate has decided that the chapel
which is to be built in the Lower Town, shall bear the title
of Our Lapy oF Vicrory, in fulfilment of a vow made to
this effect. Every year, the fourth Sunday of October will
be a commemorative feast ; there will be a procession in
honor of the Blessed Virgin on the same day.”
Our readers know with what fidelity and fervor this anni-
versary is still celebrated. Happy the country that has
marked its calendar by such festivals, which are kept after
two centuries, in the spirit of their founders !
Not to interrupt her narration, our cloistered historian has
reserved for another page her record of the festival of St.
Ursula, It isin keeping with the spirit of those primitive
times. The city was besieged by an enemy, the roar of their
cannon, at various hours of the day, was heard so near that
the balls rattled upon the roof and walls of the monastery.
The danger was so real that the Blessed Sacrament was
removed from the tabernacle ; nevertheless the, nuns sang
their first vespers. The Breviary Office could not be recited,
because their books had been stowed away with whatever
else they held most precious; but in order not to defraud
148 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Heaven of their accustomed tribute of prayer, they gave an
hour more to meditation, On the festival, the Bishop was in
their chapel to say mass and give them communion. At two
o’clock P, M. they took their accustomed places in the choir to
listen devoutly to a sermon, with the expectation that at four,
a great battle would take place within sight of their windows,
The preacher (M. de la Colombiére), after a panegyric
of the virgin martyrs, seized the occasion to exhort his
hearers to similar intrepidity in the approaching danger, con-
gratulating them on the happiness of being called to follow
so closely the footsteps of their illustrious patroness. He con-
cluded his exhortation in this pathetic style, when the Bishop
entoned that plaintive chant, “ Mama Mater gratie...Et
mortis hord suscipe,” with such feeling that the good nuns
might have believed their last hour had come. It is easy to
imagine with what sentiments they received the blessing of
our Lord during the Benediction service, at which the pre-
late officiated, closing the festal solemnity just as the roar of
artillery recommenced.
Later, it was known that this last cannonade of the enemy
was but a feint to cover their retreat, which they effected
with great precipitation during the night. When the report
of this victory reached the court of France, the conduct of
Frontenac, and that of the officers and men under his com-
mand, was so highly appreciated, that the king ordered a
medal to be struck in commemoration of the event.
Some of our readers may have seen this medal: it bears
the following motto :
KEBECA LIBERATA, MDCXC; and on the other side:
FRANCIA ‘IN NOVO ORBE VICTRIX.—Quebec delivered, 1690.
France victorious in the New World.
MOTHER DE FLECELLES OF ST. ATHANASIUS 149
CHAPTER III
1695
MOTHER DE FLECELLES OF ST, ATHANASIUS
PARISIAN NUNS
Early in the history of the Monastery, we meet with the
name of Mother St. Athanasius: our Ven. Mother Mary of
the Incarnation, her contemporary, has left us an appreciation
of her merit, in terms of the highest praise.
Called to govern the community during eighteen years,
and to edify it by her virtues through her long career of
more than half a century, her memory is still fresh among
us, and is ever cherished with gratitude, esteem, and affection.
In reading of the vocation of Mother Mary of the Incarna-
tion, we are struck with the conviction that divine Provi-
dence had prepared her in a special manner for her work;
that, truly, the trials and the toils of preceding years were
her “ novitiate for Canada,”
But such was not the case with Mother St. Athanasius,
In her youth, she was the favored child of fortune, as well
as of nature. Her family, the de Flecelles, held a distin-
guished rank, even in the polished circles of Parisian society.
Margaret, the pearl of that noble house, was placed, at an
early age, in the boarding-school of the Ursuline convent in
the Faubourg St. Jacques, (Paris), an institution then
recently founded by Madame de Ste. Beuve, yet already
flourishing and enjoying the highest reputation. Here, her rare
talents were cultivated with success, at the same time that
the excellent qualities of her heart were developed and forti-
fied by the religious instructions and pious examples of her
teachers, Cheerful and good-humored, modest and obliging,
150 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
graceful and engaging in her manners, the youthful Margaret
was a general favorite, while the solidity of her judgment,
her sincere and unaffected piety, enchained the hearts of her
friends in the lasting bonds of esteem and affection>
Returning to the bosom of her family, fitted to become its
ornament as she might have been its idol, she did not suffer
her soul to be fettered by the silken cords of love and ease.
She had heard the voice of grace, calling her to a life of
self-abnegation and devotedness to the good of souls.
Waiting only to obtain the consent of her worthy parents,
she hastened to present herself, at the age of seventeen, to
the Superior of the Ursulines, in the same convent where
she had received her education. Admitted to that novitiate
where all was fervor, she pronounced her vows after two
years — the usual period of probation—and continued her
course with fresh ardor, aiming at the highest perfection.
Already seven years had quickly passed away in the service
of Him who has said that His “yoke is easy and His burden
light,” when the little missionary band, destined for Quebec,
received hospitality in the “ Grand Couvent ” of Paris.
Mother Margaret of St. Athanasius does not appear to
have been attracted by the sight of the Christian heroines to
seek to share their enterprise, as were others of the commu-
nity. No! her vocation to Canada, like that of her call to
religion, was one of pure generosity, unaided by the sensible
attraction vf any special grace. God had permitted her soul
to be visited by a season of desolation, as dark as it was trying.
In this interior conflict, the precise nature of which is not
stated, the faithful spouse of Jesus abandons her fate more
_ completely than ever to his mercy. ‘“ Though He slay me,
yet will I trust in Him,” said holy Job. The pious Ursuline
resolves to do still more for Hin, whose Hand presses so
are
MOTHER DE FLECELLES OF ST. ATHANASIUS 151
heavily upon her breaking heart. She feels inspired with
a heroic resolution, and vows to offer herself to her superior,
to be sent to that little convent, devoted to the savage
tribes in Canada, So generous an act obtained its imme-
diate reward, in that ‘“ peace of the soul which passeth
understanding.” A strength, unknown to her before,
fortified her will, and urged her to fulfil her engagement,
sacrificing a second time her family and friends, with the
Mother and Sisters scarcely less dear of that second home,
where she had hoped to pass the remainder of her days.
Such was the first vigorous step of Mother St. Athanasius in
the rugged path to which she had committed herself.
Let us now introduce the amiable companion Providence
had prepared for her, Mother Anne Le Bugle of St. Clare.
In her vocation, unlike Mother St. Athanasius, she is borne
on the wings of a holy ardor, and deems the happiness to be
chosen for the mission, lightly bought at the price of a final
separation from her beloved parents and her community,
Her heart is so consumed with zeal for the salvation of the
benighted heathen of America, that she feels no longer
bound by earthly ties; aad we are forced to sympathize with
her weeping parents more than with herself, when they at
last, “for God’s sake,” as she had entreated, consent to let
her depart,
Then she casts herself with an utter abandon into the arms
of divine Providence, without solicitude for the present or
alarm for the future. On her voyage, every thing turns out
for the best: the ocean is always calm, the sea-breeze ever
proves “mild and refreshing.” As she nears the shore, “a
clear sky is overhead ; verdant groves and lovely flowers rejoice
her sight.” They reach Quebec, at the end of two months
(1540) .without accident and she hastens to share the poverty
152 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
and privations of that little convent on the beach in the
Lower Town!, It has a poor chapel which to her “ looks
devout ;” within, she finds a “ sweet solitude” where, with
“ most amiable and saintly Sisters,” she lives in “ wonderful
peace and union.” Her cheerfulness and filial trust in God
fitted her for the trials of life, like the reed that, bending to
the wind, is never crushed by the storm, This commencement
was but a presage of the edification which the life of Mother
St; Clare afforded, serving her Master, as she had resolved,
with her whole heart, till he called her to her reward, thirty-
six years later (1677).
The arrival of these beloved Parisian Mothers, seems to
have been highly providential for the little convent of Quebec.
It obtained the powerful aid and protection of that monastery,
the mother-house of the Congregation of Paris, which being
of older date than that of Tours, and situated near the centre
of the Missions of the Society of Jesus, enjoyed greater facility
for promoting the welfare of the new foundation.
The biographical notice of “ our most honored and beloved
Mother Margaret de Flecelles of St. Athanasius,” describes
her as a shining mirror of every virtue, nourishing her union
‘with God by a special devotion to the Passion and-to the
Blessed Eucharist, assiduous in prayer, walking in the pre-
sence of God, in the constant exercise of that two-fold
charity which is the abridgment of all perfection. If she
still remembers the rich halls of the parental mansion, it is
to provide for herself the poorest cell, the. poorest raiment,
and the most menial employments in the monastery. When
her Sisters, pained to find her in the bake-house or in the
1—The small house which served as a convent over three years,
stood opposite the present church of Our Lady of Victory.
MOTHER DE FLECELLES OF ST. ATHANASIUS 158
wash-room, would persuade her to spare herself, she insists
that it is her consolation to be there, and the best preservative
of her health, When, from the place of command, she des-
cends to the rank of inferior, her obedience has only acquired
the additional lustre of a more perfect submission ; she is the
willing servant of all who need her services, more humble in
heart than it is possible for any outward circumstances to
make her,
Once, only, did Mother St. Athanasius disoblige her
Sisters, and give them cause for sorrow and complaint. It
was. when she sought and obtained of her ecclesiastical
Superior, the Bishop of Quebec, the permission to withdraw
her name at the election of a new superior of the monastery,
wishing to enjoy the full benefit of her vow of obedience
the rest of her days.
Guided in this demand by her humility, she found, from
the same motive, abundant cause of confusion, witnessing
the affliction of her Sisters, and by their distress knowing
truly how very dear she was to them.
There would be much to add here, of her zeal for the
instruction of youth, a task from which she would never
willingly be exempted, unless it were in her old age, the last
six months of her life; of her detachment, never suffering
herself to be personally benefited by the many rich donations
of her family ; of her penitential spirit, her mortification, her
zeal for the conversion of sinners, and particularly for that
of the poor Indians, But let us conclude by citing from the
annals the details of the last few days of her life.
“Our venerable Mother Margaret de Flecelles of St.
Athanasius, laden with years and rich in merits, fell ill on
the 28th of May, 1695, in the eighty-first year of her age.
Rising as usual, at four o’clock, she had gone to the choir to
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154 “GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
infirmarian perceiving that she was feeble, conducted her to
the infirmary and urged her to take a little repose. ‘Oh!
this will be nothing,’ said the venerable patient; and in
the afternoon, returning to the choir, she received the
sacrament of penance in preparation for the feast of the mor-
row, the Holy Trinity. After communion the next morning,
and after assisting at an assembly in chapter at nine o'clock,
she took her bed to rise no more. During three days, her
vigorous constitution afforded hopes that the fever which
was consuming her might abate, but on Wednesday the
symptoms of approaching dissolution appeared. Mother St.
Athanasius knowing the danger, asked for the last sacraments,
and received them with exemplary piety.
“ Although her sufferings were great, and her soul absorbed
in God, she still was attentive to all around her, receiving
the visits of her Sisters with admirable kindness and cordiality.
“ Perceiving that her lips were dry and parched with fever,
one of us remarked it to her, asking if she would not drink
to allay her thirst. She was answered by these words so full
of meaning: ‘I have another thirst which cannot be allayed.”
The Superior, Mother Mary of the Angels, seated by her
bedside, entering into the thought, added: ‘ You thirst, dear
Mother, to glorify God, to suffer for His love, to gain souls
to His service.’ To this the venerable Mother replied with
earnestness: ‘Yes, yes! I thirst to glorify God, and to love
Him,’ Then, with the same fervor, she exclaimed, in the
words of the Psalmist: ‘For thee my soul hath thirsted! In
a desert land, and where no water is; so, in the sanctuary
have I come before thee, O God, to see thy power and thy
glory.”
The last moments of her-life were passed in that sweet
and intimate communion with God which was habitual to
MOTHER DE FLECELLES OF ST. ATHANASIUS 155
her, till, pronouncing three times the holy name of Jesus,
she gently gave up her soul to Him who made it. This was
on the third of June, 1695, the sixty-third anniversary of
her religious profession.
“ Mother St, Athanasius will ever be regarded as a signal
benefactress of this Monastery. God alone knows how
much we are indebted to her. We humbly hope she already
enjoys her reward in the happiness of heaven. Her many
virtues and the affection we bore her render us most
sensible to her loss, and her memory will ever be held dear
among us,”
In closing this slight tribute to the memory of our two
first Parisian Mothers, we may remind our readers of the
three others of the same Congregation, who were welcomed
to Quebec in 1671: Mother Marie Le Maire of the Angels,
Mother Marie Drouet of Jesus, and Mother Marie Gibault
du Breuil of St. Joseph.
Thirteen years previous to the decease of Mother St.
Athanasius, 1682, the Constitutions of the Ursulines of
Paris, by the advice of the Bishop, had been adopted by
the community of Quebec. These constitutions, published
first in 1623, and reprinted with some slight amendments
a few years after, bear the impress of their origin, the
finger of God guiding the hand of His Saints, Composed by
persons of the highest merit, deeply versed in theology and
in the knowledge of the human heart, every chapter and
every sentence was made the subject of careful examination,
and tested by being put in practice, before it finally received
the seal of episcopal approbation, The experience of two
hundred years has but rendered those constitutions move
precious and venerable in this Monastery, where they are
still in full force, with such modifications only as the
circumstances of the times have required, and the proper
authority sanctioned.
156 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
CHAPTER IV
1697
THE URSULINE CONVENT OF THREE RIVERS
Quebec had made provision from an early date for the
two classes of society, the most helpless and the most in need
of succor, children and the poor infirm, The College of the
Jesuits, the Ursuline Convent and the Hotel-Dieu grew up
with the rising city: the theological Seminary, with its
“ Little seminary ” for students, was founded by Bishop
Laval, in 1663; the General Hospital, by Bishop Saint-
Valier, in 1692. These were all flourishing institutions at
the close of the century.
Montreal had also, from a period nearly coéval with its
tirst settlement, welcomed the heroic Mademoiselle Manse,
and the devoted Marguerite Bourgeois. The former endowed
Ville-Marie with its hospital ; the latter, with an institution
for female youth, the Congregation of Our Lady (1653) ; the
Seminary of St. Sulpice, founced in 1677, offered the advan-
tages of a Christian education to youth of the other sex.
Three Rivers, which from the beginning of the colony was
regarded as an important post, and which received a perma-
nent settlement with a local governor, in 1645, had not, at
the end of sixty years, an institution either of education or
of charity, beyond what the mission of the good Jesuits
and the Franciscan Fathers afforded.
This want had no doubt seriously retarded the prosperity
and importance of the rising city, whatever may have been
said by a late author of the folly of founding an hospital,
almost contemporary with the settlement of a country.
THE URSULINE CONVENT OF THREE RIVERS 157
The zealous prelate who had endowed Quebec with its
second hospital, consulted with the local Governor of Three
Rivers, M. Rigaud de Vaudreuil, and it was decided that one
establishment, at least, should be »ndertaken. Unwilling,
nevertheless, to leave the sick and infirm unprovided for, he
conceived the possibility of uniting the two works of mercy
is one institution. Ursulines would teach; it is an indis-
pensable article of their constitutions : but they could also,
by episcopal authority, attend to the wants of the sick, in a
part of the monastery to be called the Hospital. The project
was new and untried ; it is an additional proof of the zeal
and spirit of sacrifice of our ancient Mothers, when they
accept a foundation on these conditions,
A mansion on the margin of the St. Lawrence had been
built for the residence of the Governor: the Bishop proposed
to purchase it, if it would be found suitable for a convent.
This point being left to the decision of the nuns, they must
needs make the journey to see it. Mother Le Maire of the
Angels with the newly appointed Superior, Mother Marie
Drouet of Jesus, and a lay-sister, issuing from the cloister,
was met by the Governor of Three Rivers, M. de Rigaud de
Vaudreuil, Bishop Saint-Valier, and M. de Montigny, of the
Seminary of Quebec, the ecclesiastical Superior of the monas-
tery. The voyage was without accident, and business was
settled to the satisfaction of the parties voncerned, the contract
passed, and the germ c: a future community planted, It
was plain that the new foundation would not have to endure
the hardships and privations which had attended that of
Quebec ; but it is possible there will be other trials, for the
works of Heaven are ever built upon the cross.
A few days later, there is another parting scene at the
Ursulines of Quebec. Mother Mary of the Angels stands in
readiness to conduct an Assistant-superior, Mother Le Vail-
158 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
lant of St. Cecile, 1. and two more of her daughters, to the
-new convent: Mother Marie Amiot of the Conception, and
Mother St. Michael have been chosen. But let us join the
little colony, the day preceding their departure from the dear
monastery, when they go forth to pay their farewell visits to
their friends in the city.
Their first station is at the castle, where they offer their
respects to the veteran Count de Frontenac, and receive his
_ parting wishes, They next visit the new monastery of the
Recollets, and the Bishop’s palace, where a most cor-
dial and paternal reception awaited them. The eminent
prelate conducted them himself to the Seminary, to present
their homage to the venerable Bishop Laval, and the mem-
bers of his community. Here, again, all was cordiality, and
the most obliging testimonies of gvod will were shown.
Thence, M. de Montigny led the way to the College of the
Jesuit Fathers, whose hospitality was displayed by a collation,
of which the nuns must partake, before they proceed to the
Hotel-Dieu.
The scene here may easily he imagined. For some, it was
the mecting of old schoolmates and earlv friends; for others,
the cherished hostesses who had received with such sympathy,
eleven years before, a community without a shelter.
But let us hasten on, for at the Intendant’s palace Monsieur
and Madame Champigny, old friends of the monastery, are
waiting to give a hearty welcome to these rare visitants.
At the newly-founded general Hospital, they are expected.
Is there not, indeed, a new tie added to their friendship by
1—Mother St. Cecile, a person of rare merit, had but lately arrived
from her Convent in Bayeux, France. She lived only two years
after joining the Ursulines of Three Rivers.
THE URSULINE CONVENT OF THREE RIVERS 159
the adoption of the title of hospitaliéres, added to that of
Ursulines ? The day was scarcely long enough for all these
demonstrations of interest and kindness, The following morn-
ing, at an early hour, we find our missionary Sisters hastening
their departure, lest the farewell embrace should move them
too deeply. They alight from the carriage only to get their
worthy prelate’s blessing ; then, descending Mountain Street
to the Lower Town, they embark for their future home in
Three Rivers.
Another voyage up the river, ia the leisurely style of those
days, gives Mother Mary of the Angels an opportunity to
accustom herself to the features of that landscape, which still
strikes the beholder with its grandeur and beauty. The lovely
borders of the Seine would have brought her pleasing remi-
niscences of her youthful days; the St. Lawrence carried her
back to the first time she had beheld, a quarter of a century
previous, the wild scenery of her adopted country.
Our limits will not permit us to follow them further, unless
it be to see the return, three years later, of one of these young
nuns, Mother Mary of the Conception, whose absence had
taken the light from her mother’s hearth. Mrs Amiot had
made a great sacrifice, in giving her daughter to the Ursulines
of Quebec, but ske had counted on the pleasure of seeing her,
from time to time, in the house where she had consecrated
herself to God. Pleading her cause with a mother’s eloquence,
she moved the prelate to decide upon recalling her to Quebec.
Here, her mission extended to long and useful years, as our
annals show.
In the spring of 1699, we find Mother Mary of the Angels
returning to Three Rivers as Superior. The Bishop and the
ecclesiastical Superior are there to receive the vows of five
novices, and.give the veil to another. Thus the community
160 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
numbered eleven members, four of whom were professed in:
Quebec.
The generous founder, Bishop de Saint-Valier, spared no
pains, economising even upon his personal expenses to assure
the prosperity of an institution whose usefulness he fully
appreciated, During the yet perilous period of its foundation,
Mother Mary of the Angels writes: “I may be blamed for
having undertaken this work, but after the proofs I have had
that it is the will of God, I cannot repent of the experiment.
If I have erred it is in common with persons of various rank
and condition, who are more enlightened than I am; and
should God permit it, I shall witness the failure of the enter-
prise as cheerfully as its success, for I desire nothing but. the
accomplishment of the will of Heaven.”
With sentiments like these in the foundress of the new
monastery, it is not surprising that the blessing of God rested
upon it. Superiors, already exercised in the difficult art of
governing well, like Mother Le Maire of the Angels, Mother
Marie Drouet of Jesus and Mother St. Teresa, were deputed
from Quebec by the Bishop to guide the young community,
until, in 1731, it was found capable of subsisting by itself.
Ten years previous, it is mentioned by the historian, Charle-
voix, as a “ flourishing monastery, composed of forty Ursu-
line nuns, who have the care of a fine hospital, in addition
to the labors of their institute.”
The trials which were spared in the commencement, were
reserved for a later day. In 1752, the noble mansion, which
had sheltered the devoted Ursulines in their double mission
of charity during fifty-five years, became, in the space of
four hours, the prey of a destructive conflagration. The same
fire enveloped a part of the town in a like misfortune.
Hospitality was offered to the nuns by the Franciscan Fa-
thers, who gave up their house, retiring to a smaller one, in
FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART ESTABLISHED 161
order te accommodate a community in distress. An appeal
to the public in favor of the victims of the conflagration,
was followed by a gradual restoration of the ruined town.
The convent was rebuilt in the course of the following year,
Bishop de Pontbriand, in person, overseeing the labors of
the reconstruction, lodging in the servants’ house and
paying the workmen from his own purse, The eminent
Prelate died seven years later, with the glory of having
accomplished to the letter the Gospel counsel of bestowing
his goods upon the poor, that he might have a treasure in
heaven, He is justly considered as the second founder of
the Ursulines of Three Rivers, After a lapse of another
half century, a second disaster called for a similar devoted-
ness and generosity on the part of another bishop ; but there
are details connected with that event which, to avoid repe-
titions, must be reserved for a future page.
Let us not delay however to proclaim: Honor to the
Institution, which during two hundred years has rendered
services of inappreciable value to all classes of society, both
by its well-conducted hospital and by its flourishing educa-
tional department !
CHAPTER V
1700
FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART ESTABLISHED
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is no longer a
practice reserved to a few pious souls, who, like a St. Ger-
trude, a St. Catherine, a Saint Francis of Sales, or like our
11
/
}
i
162 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
own Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation, have known,
in their silent communion with Heaven, that the graces and
gifts from on high flow most abundantly through that sacred
channel,
Since that auspicious day, when, in the solitary cloister of
Paray-le-Monial, (1675) the voice of inspiration was heard,
directing this devotion to be made public and extended to all
the faithful, it has gradually taken root ; the fair tree has
grown, its branches have spread, its delicious fruit has been
offered to every palate,
But the finger of God is apt to move slowly, while it leaves
its bright and indelible trace. Thus it was, that the decree
for the celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart through-
out the Church, which has filled all Christendom with joy,
was delayed two full centuries ; but issued at last from the
heart of the illustrious Pontiff, the well-beioved Holy Father,
Pope Pius IX,
Canada may well exult in having understood and accepted
the blessed, consoling devotion, as soon as it was made
known, If it met with opposition in some parts of Europe,
it found none here,
It is not surprising that the feast of the Sacred Heart, with
the other practices of adoration, reparation and special love
which belong to it, first found a shrine in that spot where
Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation had so often
prayed, offering her petitions to the Eternal Father on the
living altar of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and where her
daughters had since labored to keep alive the flame she had
once kindled.
During the thirty-three years of Mother Mary’s sojourn in
Canada, she had each day lifted up her great soul to God, in
that ardent prayer: “It is through the'Heart of My Jesus,
FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART ESTABLISHED 163
my way, my truth and my life, that I approach thee, O
Eternal Father,” that prayer which, to day, warms thou-
sands of hearts, happy to learn, from its burning accents, the
secret of obtaining most efficaciously those graces which have
been purchased for us by the sufferings of our Saviour, but
which must be sought for in an acceptable manner, ere they
are bestowed upon us,
The daughters of Mother Mary of the Incarnation, imbued
with her spirit of zeal and devotedness, adopted as naturally,
not only her sentiments, but even the expressions that were
so familiar to her. Thus, we meet throughout her numer-
ous letters greetings like these: “I salute you in the
Sacred Heart of my Divine Spouse ;” “ I offer you daily to
the Eternal Father on the sacred altar of the Heart of Jesus,
&e.” Similar expressions occur in a letter written by one of
the nuns from Paris, a short time after she had reached the
monastery of Quebec: ‘ I entreat you to meet me often in
the Sacred Heart of Jesus, beseeching Him to accomplish
His holy will in me, It is there I embrac3 you, &c,”
If as yet this devotion had not its exterior manifestations
as was revealed later to Blessed Margaret-Mary, its spirit
was latent here, in every heart, and only needed a signal to
burst forth. As early as 1692, we find the name of “Sister Mary
of the Sacred Heart” bestowed upon a novice, In 1699, while
yet the practices of piety which are now so familiar to all
Catholics, were scarcely known in Europe beyond the clois-
ter-walls of Paray-le-Monial, the Superior of our monastery,
Mother Mary of the Angels, consults her nuns in chapter,
and with their advice, the first Friday of the month is set
apart for the act of reparation to the Sacred Heart,
In the following June, the first Friday after the Octave of
Corpus Christi was observed as a feast of first class, with
a
a
se
==
4
:
164 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
High Mass, Vespers and Benediction of the Blessed Sacra-
ment, The festival was established, and never can the Ursu-
lines of Quebec be sufliciently grateful to God for having
chosen their chapel as the first, and during many years the
only sanctuary in Canada, where the Sacred Heart received
that public tribute of adoration, love and reparation which
Our Lord is pleased to accept from His weak and erring
creatures,
If the homes of genius and the haunts of learning affect
the spirit with a sort of fascination, what must be the
influence of those pious fanes, those holy places, where the
pure in heart have received the visits of angels, nay of the
Lord of angels, and have conversed with God in the manner
most acceptable to his Divine Majesty !
And what is more touching for us, inhabitants of the Old
Monastery, is to see in what a poor and humble shrine our
Divine Lord, during fifteen years, deigned to accept the
homage of his servants.
Let us re-people in imagination, that little chapel, ! long
abandoned but which must ever be sacred in our eyes,
Entering, while some pious members of the Confraternity
are engaged in performing their stated “ hour of adoration, ” 2
we behold them, oblivious of the world, its cares or its enjoy-
ments: their eyes are closed in meditation, or fixed upon the
tabernacle, where faith pierces the mysterious veils and shows
1—This chapel has lately been restored for private devotions,
under the title of Chapel of the Sacred Heart.
2—In the original Association of the Sacred Heart, each member
was expected to pass an hour in prayer, in presence of the Blessed
Sacrament, on one day in the year, as specified in the ticket of
admission.
FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART ESTABLISHED 165
the Saviour, displaying in proof of his love, that ardent
furnace, his own divine Heart. Yes! “ God has so loved the
world,” and shall we not return love for love ?
Many adorers are present, perhaps, although it is not the
festival of the Sacred Heart, for each great feast of the year
brings a certain number of worshippers. The highest kneel
beside the lowest before their common God,
But who shall tell with what sentiments the nuns, who
had so long practised the devotion of the Venerable Foun-
dress, welcomed that first Feast of the Sacred Heart ! Entering
their little choir, with holy joy, they adore “ in spirit and in
truth.” Now, it is the aged Mother St. Ignatius (Charlotte
Barré), who seems to have but waited forthe triumph of this
precious devotion, to sing her “ Nune dimittis,” Now, it is
Mother St. Agnes, just elected Superior, with some of those
ten nuns still living, who like herself, have learned the secret
of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, with the lessons of reli-
gious perfection, from the lips of the Venerable Mother
Mary of the Incarnation.
But when the fair proportions of our present church arose
(1723), to replace that little chapel, it was a welcome
exchange, Then the artistic taste of the nuns was called in
requisition, and they vied with each other in adorning the
sanctuary, especially the altar of the Sacred Heart. Nota
few of our good Mothers are commended in their obituaries,
for their zeal in decorating that favorite shrine, over which
the spirit of the Venerable Mother Mary of the Inzarnation
seems still to brood.
New members of the Association have been added from
year to year, while volume after volume has been filled with
the names of the best and the highest in rank and virtue,
throughout the land.
———
i} 166 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
tf ———
{| A glance at the early registers shows us such names as
iy the following : Bishop Saint-Valier, whose name heads the
Pt list ; the Marquis de Vaudreuil; the Chevalier de Repen-
4 tigny, des Meloises, de Villedonnéd, de Contrecceur, d’Argen-
‘S teuil, de Lanaudiére, etc. The Marchioness dé Vaudreuil, and
H her sister Madame Taschereau ; Mesdames de la Gorgendiére,
| de Verchéres de St. Ours, de Léry, de Gaspé, de Salaberry ;
| the Baroness de Longueuil, and many others,
iy Now it is a long list of young girls; for, of course, no
pupil would leave the Monastery without entering into the
Association, so dear to her convent Mothers. As we
examine those long pages of names, priests and missionaries,
magistrates and lawyers, officers and soldiers ; here, whole
| parishes: there, congregations or families; the thought
naturally arises : Were not the people of Canada, in that
H eighteenth century, preparing for themselves by these most
salutary practices of piety, a means to escape the deluge of
woes that was about to inundate the mother-country, and
thus to preserve, yet a while, the spirit of the ages of faith,
when the acknowledged object of life was to know God, and
to advance daily in the path that leads to Heaven ?
| And, if our Lord himself has promised to those who
| establish, practise and propagate, the devotion to the Sacred
Heart, “peace and concord, fervor in the service of God, con-
solation in troubles and trials, with a calm confidence in the
| hour of death,” need we look further for the source and
tt | origin of all the graces and blessings bestowed upon this
| iY dl Monastery since its foundation to the present day ?
a |
|
|
|
|
|
|
t % ' \
“Jwoutlinas Gakaneab aes GRoaiabes wlestae ahorialcain? eliotase ities aot easietoare sat Maigi ad eas
THE LAST SURVIVOR OF 1639 167
CHAPTER VI
THE LAST SURVIVOR OF 1639
“On the 22d January 1701, our dear Mother St. Ignatius
witnessed the dawn of the great day of eternity, ardently
desiring her last hour, in order to end, as she said, her sinful.
life, and to be united to her God. She expired in admirable
sentiments of piety and joy, her last act being to press the
crucifix tenderly to her dying lips.
“She was eighty-one years of age, having passed fifty-five
in religion.”
Thus concludes, after a long enumeration of her virtues,
the biographical notice of Miss Charlotte Barré, the first pro-
fessed of the Ursulines of Quebec. This name carries us
back to the time of Madame de la Peltrie, and reminds us of
scenes worthy of being portrayed before our readers,
It is not on every-day occurrence to meet with instances of
magnanimity, such as Miss Barré, at the age of nineteen, was
enabled to display, and which won her valuable and prolonged
services to this monastery.
Born in the town of Azay, near Tours, in France, of
truly Christian parents, Charlotte, at the age of thirteen,’
had already found within her heart an immense desire to
consume her life in the service of God, for the salvation of
souls ; but how, or where? That was the secret of divine
Providence, Her piety seems to have run in the smooth chan-
nels of fervor and peace, when, at the age of nineteen, she is
sent one day, by her director, Father Salin, to introduce her-
self to Mother Mary of the incarnation and Madame de la
Peltrie. From them she hears of the enterprise they have in
168 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
view, and learns that Madame de la Peltrie, disappointed in
a companion who had promised to accompany her, is in search
of another, To the question: “ Are you willing to go with us
to Canada?” Miss Barré replies: “ All my desire is to con-
secrate myself to God, and I shall most gladly embrace this
offer, which will atford me an opportunity of risking my life
for Him.”
Like the Apostles, she obeys the call of the Divine Master
without hesitation, unmoved by the urgent solicitations of
her family who would have retained her. There was indeed
no time for delay, the vessels being ready to sail, and the
only favor the generous girl requested, was to see and open
her trunk before it was carried off with the other baggage, in
order to return by some trust-worthy person, an article of
value which she was keeping fo. a friend.
Madame de la Peltrie knew from this moment what a
treasure she possessed. She was happy to retain her, and
promised to facilitate later her entrance into the convent
which they were going to establish, by paying her dowry.
Charlotte, on the other hand, was overwhelmed with the con-
viction of her own unworthiness, and unable to understand
how it was that God had placed her in the company of Saints,
calling her to share the labors, the merits, and the glory of
so sublime an enterprise. In these sentiments, she humbly
‘accompanied Madame de la Peltrie wherever she went, as
long as her services were required. Then asa novice, in 1646,
she applied herself with fervor to fulfil the new duties that
devolved upon her, aiming at nothing less than a perfect
imitation of the Divine Saviour in his life of obedience and
mortification. Her zeal for the instruction of youth, and her
talent for teaching, her aptitude for every other office in the
THE LAST SURVIVOR OF 1639 169
community, rendered her most useful during her long career,
while her kindness, her universal charity, her amiability,
won her as much love as esteem.
The magnanimity of which she had given proof in bidding
adieu to her home and country for God’s sake, without a
sigh, did not give place to love of ease and comfort in later
years, If she once rushed into the flames, as we have seen,
to save those children who, in the conflagration of the monas-
tery were exposed to perish, she never on any occasion
spared herself when they were crosses to be borne or hard-
ships to be endured, Whether she met with many of these,
can best be known by those who have read at length the
history of the monastery during the first sixty years of its
existence,
One that truly loves God never says: “ It is enough,”
when there is question of corresponding to grace in the prac-
tice of virtue. “This generous soul, says the annalist,
following the example of her Divine Spouse, who calls him-
self the “ hidden God,” had no other ambition but to be
unknown and forgotten, treating her body as her greatest
enemy, seldom approaching the fire even in the extreme
rigors of winter, abstaining from food so far that she may be
said to have fasted continually, refusing herself the most
innocent satisfaction. Whatever leisure remained to her after
the numerous occupations was given to prayer. Hastening to
the foot of the altar, prostrate in the humble attitude of the
publican in the Gospel, she seemed lost in the conscious-
ness of the presence of God.”
The long career of Mother St, Ignatius, who had crossed
the Atlantic with our first Mothers and who knew every
incident of those strange early times, must have furnished a
strong link in the chain of traditions that have come down
to us, As we have already stated, she was the first professed
i a
us
170 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
of the Convent of Quebec. Twenty-six younger Sisters sur-
rounded her death-bed. One of these, who had also seen
Mother St. Athanasius, Mother Genevieve Boucher of St,
Peter, prolonged her vigorous existence till 1765, having
passed seventy-two years inthecommunity, At that date, we
find, among others, Mother Louise Taschereau of St. Francis
Xavier, who was still living in 1825, and consequently
known to the aged Mothers, who have imparted to us
the precious traditions once derived from the venerable
Mothers St. Athanasius and St. Ignatius.
Doubtless in those former times, as at the present day, it
was a pleasure for the younger members to surround the
aged, seeking wisdom in the company of those whose minds
have been enriched by the experience of multiplied years. It:
is in this manner that many poiuts of valuable information,
many interesting anecdotes which have eluded the notice of
the cloistered historian, are perpetuated and finally recorded.
CHAPTER VII
1700-1713
DAWN OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
There are some gloomy pages on our old register, at the
beginning of the 18th century. Within the space of thirteen
years, famine, pestilence and war, alternately menace, or
invade the colony; and on such occasions the Ursulines
necessarily have their share in the common misfortunes,
The scant and blighted harvest of 1700, was followed by a
scarcity bordering on starvation; while an epidemy, as
unknown to the medical art as it was fatal in its attacks,
‘
DAWN OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 171
augmented and rendered more poignant the general distress.
There were not enough people in health to have care of the
sick, nor priests enough to attend the dying and bury the
dead,
The convent escaped the famine, but paid its tribute to
the cruel malady. So many of the nuns were attacked by
the fever, that the infirmary not sufficing to lodge the sick,
it was necessary to take care of them in their cells, those
who waited on the others being almost as ill as their patients.
The two victims of this epidemy were the mistress of novices,
Mother Bourdon of St. Joseph, and the eharitable infirma-
rian, Mother Boutet of St. Augustine.
Two years later, another malady, ever dreaded in propor-
tion as it is known, the small-pox, made still greater
ravages, carrying off, it is said, in the space of a few months,
one fourth of the inhabitants of Quebec, making victims in
every house, as well as in the religious communities,
In the monastery, every precaution had been taken to
keep the unwelcome visitor at a distance, and with success
until it had raged during six weeks in town. It penetrated,
at last, from the adjacent church where the people had come
in procession to offer prayers and perform their devotions,
A lay-sister and several boarders were first attacked ; a few
days later, the list included seventeen nuns and thirty-seven
boarders,
In the lodgings of the servant-men, out of seven, one alone
remained in health to wait upon his companions, The school-
house of the externs (Madame de la Peltrie’s house) was trans-
formed into a hospital for the sick boarders; the infirmary
and novitiate were filled with the sick nuns, Class-duties
were suspended, it being impossible to find teachers while
so many needed attendance night and day. There were
172 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
besides, other and more sorrowful duties to be performed,
Three among the nuns, all of them young, were in the space
of ten days consigned to the tomb, with the usual mournful
rites, but without the ringing of bells, lest that tribute to the
departed, should overpower the poor patients yet struggling
with the fearful disease, The city authorities had been com-
pelled to issue an order, forbidding to ring for funerals, the
oft-repeated knell having so affected several persons as to
hasten their death.
After another respite of two years, the winter months
pass again (1706), in bestowing compassionate cares upon
the sick. Seven or eight patients were confined to their bed
all winter, It was a strange intermittent fever, requiring
night-watchers, and attentions of every kind.
Other epidemies appear again in 1709 and 1711, conti-
nuing to depopulate the colony. On these occasions there
was much suffering, but no death occurred among the inmates
of the cloister. Though our pen is weary of so mournful a
page, we have yet to enumerate other calamities which befell
the city and the country,during that period of twelve or thirteen
years, at the beginning of the century. Ifthese did not regard
our nuns personally, they shared them by sympathy and
compassion. ,
Let us mention, first, the conflagration of the Seminary of
Quebec, 1701, while the professors were absent at St. Mi-
chael’s with the students: then another fire, four years later,
when, considering the recent improvements, the loss was
greater than on the preceding occasion. The buildings were all
nearly finished, when a carpenter, carelessly smoking in the
midst of shavings, the falling of a spark was the cause of a
second disaster. The details are all duly consigned in our
annals, with expressions of condolence, and regret at not
me Cf
DAWN OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 173
eayoocee on
7
being able to lend any assistance in the restoration of an
institution so precious to the colony. ‘They do not forget
the venerable Bishop Laval, whose affliction must Lave been
great, if it was in proportion to the interest he bore that
institution, which he had founded and watched over during
forty years of his episcopacy.
Other events recorded, filling several pages of the annals
are: the captivity of Bishop Saint-Valier, detained nine years
(1704-1713) as a prisoner of war in the Tower of London;
Then, in 1709, a scarcity, bordering on famine, caused by a
failure in the grain crop, ravaged by an army of caterpillars ;
the menace of war (1710, 11), ever becoming louder and
more alarming, while the military preparations to defend the
city, commenced in 1689, in the immediate vicinity of the
monastery, were continued, to the great annoyance of the
inhabitants of the cloister.
Here is certainly a picture sufficiently gloomy, yet never
darkened by despondency. The nuns had put their trust in
‘God, and consequently they were not without consolation.
In fact, the life of a good religious, a life in God and for God,
has an intrinsic joyousness of its own, independent of all
outward circumstunces.
Our Mothers were joined by several aspirants to the reli-
gious life during this period, as may be seen by referring to
the list of entries, The classes were interrupted but once; and
with young girls to instruct, Ursulines have a consciousness
of well-doing which must render them happy.
Our readers remember how providentially for Canada that
dreaded invasion of 1711, combined with so much apparent
ability on the part of the New England colonists, came to
naught ; a powerful fleet having been held in check by dark
fogs and strong winds till, with the loss of eight hundred
174 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
men by shipwreck, the discomfited invaders withdrew without
even seeing the heights of Cape Diamond, or meeting with
any other enemy but their own adverse fortune.
This event was recorded to posterity by the pious colouists,
who in memory of Heaven’s protection, erected an enduring
monument to testify their gratitude. The votive church of
Our Lady of Victory received the addition of a graceful por-
tico, reared by public contribution, while its title was changed
to that of “ Our Lady of Victories, ”
But these long years, so beset with difficulties, were drawing
to a close. The treaty of Utrecht (1713), settling many polit-
ical differences, was favorable to peace in America, This
treaty had also set free, after his long imprisonment, the
illustrious prelate, Bishop Saint-Valier; and we share the
glad anticipations of better times with which the “ joyous
firing of the cannon” announces his arrival.
‘ All the population hastened to the wharf to welcome the
venerated Pastor, and conduct him in triumph, while the
chime of bells and the roar of artillery mingled with their
shouts of joy.
“ In the course of the afternoon, adds the annalist (August
18th, 1713), we had ‘he pleasure of seeing our good Bishop
and hearing him express his joy. For our part, great is our
gratitude to the God of goodness who has vouchsafed to grant
us such consolation after our long and heavy trials, ” y
THE THREE CAPTIVES 175
CHAPTER VIII
THE THREE CAPTIVES
MISS WHEELWRIGHT BECOMES AN URSULINE |
|
1714
On reading the early history of New England or of Canada,
who has not shuddered at the recital of the atrocities of
Indian warfare, the revolting feats of savage prowess, the
merciless use of scalping-knife and tomahawk, the fiendish
cruelties exercised upon a fallen enemy. Unfortunate were
the captives whose lives were spared onlv to endure pro-
longed tortures and sufferings !
These were the customs of war among the aborigenes of
America, What shall we say to justify the devastation and
blood-shed that atten! the warfare of even civilized nations ?
But this is a question foreign to our subject.
Among the Indians, another class of captives were treated
in a different manner: and thus it is that our annals and tradi-
tions afford us the means of tracing the merciful Hand of
God, accomplishing that truly divine work of “ bringing good
out of evil, ” in the fate of three of these captives of war.
Near the close of the seventeenth century, in one of the
border settlements in Maine, lived one of the descendants of
the Puritan leader, John Wheelwright }, who had followed
his co-religionists to Boston, in 1636,
1—Banished from Boston for his religious opinions, Wheelwright
was @ pioneer in the frontier settlements of Exeter, N. H. and
Wells, Maine. John Wheelwright, the father of our Esther, was
grandson of the Puritan minister, Wheelwright, and Miss Baker
atlirms that his name is among the noblest in the New England
176 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Surrounded by such comforts as a New England home
afforded even in those early times, blessed with lovely
children, honored and trusted by all the neighborhood, the
Wheelwrights esteemed themselves, and with reason, a happy
family.
The little hamlet of Wells, although bordered by the wild
forest which was the home of the Abenakis !, reposed in seem-
ing security during the long summer months of 1703. These
Indians were not always hostile, and if the tocsin of war had
sounded in Europe between France and England, their colo-
nies in America were not actually involved in the contest *.
On this morning of the 10th of August, the children of the
village, at 9 o’clock, were already abroad and full of glee, on
their way to school, The apple-orchard was red with tempting
fruit. Wild berries were ripe. Late swallows were twittering
annals. See “ True Stories of New England Captives,” by this
elegant writer.
In letters to us, Miss Baker has mentioned an Esther, now living,
as the seventh in lineal descent from the grand-niece, to whom was
sent the oil-painting still preserved in memory ot the captive,
Mother Esther Wheelwright of the Infant Jesus.
1—‘‘ The tract of country which nowforms the State of Maine
was a disputed ground between the French and English, and the
Abenakis, attached to the former by a common faith and former
acts of kindness, were embittered against the latter by wrongs and
oppressions sustained at their hands. When war broke out, the
missionaries, often in jeopardy, remained manfully at their posts,
inculcating mercy in war, as well as every other Christian virtue.”
Catholic Missions, by John Gilmary Shea.
2—isew England, which had just passed an act condemning Ca
tholic missionaries to imprisonment for life, sought their media-
tion in the war of 1703, to obtain neutrality on the part of the
Abenakis. Failing in this, a party attacked Norridgewalk, burnt
the church and village, and oftered a reward for the head. of the
missionary, but the Indians refused to betray him. Catholic Mis-
sions, Gilmary Shea.
THE THREE CAPTIVES 177
as they flew, while gay sparrows and social robins flitted
with their young broods from grassy laue to shady thicket,
filling the morning air with melody, Perhaps the village
school-house was already full, and the master’s voice lifted in
solemn prayer when the wild whoop of the Indians was heard,
Oh! the dismay of such an hour, Bounding upon their
prey, at the concerted sigual, soon had these savage warriors
acco.iplished the feat they had planned.
A few tomahawks had been raised, a few scalps secured,
and, as soon, the signal for retreat had been obeyed, the vul-
tures bearing off in their cruel talons the youngest lambkins,
the unguarded and feeble of the flock,
The villagers, recovering from the sudden onset, found
their number diminished ; some lay wounded or dead, others
gone ; in all, thirty-nine were missing.
In many a cottage there was weeping and loud lamenta-
tion, for beloved ones, when called by the tenderest names,
answered not, nor could they be discovered after the most
diligent search, Mauy a wistful glance was directed towards
the forest, but rash would have been the attempt to pursue
the foe within his native fastnesses,
And thus it was that the little darling of the Wheelwright
family, a hapless child of seven, was borne away to the depths
of the forest, tightly bound in the grasp of her Indian captor,
who covering our little Esther’s face with his brawny hand,
hurried her away with rapid strides to the thickest of the
wide, old forest, and hailing with a prolonged, “ho! ho!” his
savage brethren, set down his trembling prize, by the side of
his own half-clad children and their tawny mother, Then
commenced the wanderings of this innocent lamb, suddenly
purloined from the fold, and forced to dwell in a den of
wolves, Yet, for her, they relaxed their barbarity, as far as
12
178 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
was possible for the circumstances of savage life, The dark-
eved squaw spoke in gentle tones, and guarded with marked
preference the pretty little “ pale face,”
But, alas! what altered scenes, what dismal company, for
that little girl brought up with tenderest care, by her own
gentle-born, loving Engl'sh mother! How long were the
marches, and how tangled the paths, when the camp broke
up, and the whole party set out for the chase! How rude the
fare, and how repulsive the resting-place at night ; while the
days lengthen into weeks! And still our little Esther solaces
her childish heart with its thoughts of revenge. “I will tell
my papa, indeed J will.” But no papais there more for her ;
and the months roll on, Her tattered school-dress still clings
to her, but it is getting short ; her blond tresses forget to fall
in clustering ringlets,smoothed only by the oily fingers of her
squaw mother, More than this, her English prattle is almost
lost, and her tongue is getting used to the strange dialect
of her companions, when, one day, a missionary appears in
the midst of the Indian village.
Father Bigot is not a stranger among the Abenakis, He
is invited to the best lodge, where the children are assembled
to hear him tell of the Great Spirit. What does he there
behold? A little white girl among the rest, a child of some
eight or nine years, whose graceful manners still betray the
gentle teachings of her infancy. To rescue the little captive
was the first thought of good Father Bigot, with the determi-
nation to restore her to civilized life, and to her parents, if
they could be discovered. But it is well known with what
difficulty an Indian would relinquish one of these adopted
children, It was not possible to move, by threats or promises,
the proud Abenaki wiv had placed the pale floweret in his
cabin. What then could the missionary do? Oh, he could
yet do much for her, He could watch over her; he vould
THE THREE CAPTIVES 179
teach her, as he tanght the little Indian girls, to adore
and love God there in the forest, while he waited some
favorable conjuncture to set her at liberty,
No wonder that the child, intelligent beyond her age, and
speaking the Indian dialect at the end of three years as well
as if it had always been hers, was ever the most attentive
listener to the good Father’s instructions, No wonder the
woods grew pleasant to her now that the love of God filled
her young heart,
But when those bereaved parents, who had mourned their
child as dead, learned that she was still living, and living in
the depths of the forest with the Abenakis, the enemies of
their nation, what must have been their sentiments? The
only hope of recovering their child depended upon the possi-
bility of obtaining the influence of the French Governor,
Trusting in his humanity, they present him their petition ;
and little Esther, through the mediation of Father Bigot,
becomes the subject of serious negotiaticns between the
Marquis de Vaudreuil and the chief of the Abenakis. Even
under such patronage, it was no easy matter to obtain the
release of the charming and well-beloved prisoner.
Rich presents at last, overcame their reluctance, and in
the autumn of 1708, the Indian sachem delivered up the
little English girl to the great Captain of the French.
Exchanging the bark-roof of the wigwam for the vice-
royal residence of the governor at Quebec, the youthful Esther,
now twelve years of age, speedily won the love and admira-
tion of her new friends, The Marquis felt for his protégée
the tenderness of a father, and while awaiting an opportunity
to restore her to her parents, provided for her welfare as if
she were, indeed, his own child, by placing her with his daugh-
ter, in the Ursuline Convent. Her home lay at the distance
of seven hundred miles; the intervening wastes where wan-
180 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
dered different tribes of savages, with the French, tended
not to diminish that distance, nor the difficulties of commu-
nication,
The young girl, happy in her convent-home, had made her
first communion, with angelic fervor: and having acquired
the graces and accomplishments which became her so well,
she was recalled to the hone of her protector, the Chateau
St. Louis, Very soon, however, the Marquis was informed
that Miss Wheelwright’s only desire was to prolong her stay
in the monastery, and even to share the life of her pious
convent-Mothers ; but he refused his consent, and sought,
with more activity than ever, to discover some means of send-
ing the lovely young girl to her parents, whose grief he
compassionated so sincerely, He conducted her to Three
Rivers, placing her while he remained there, with our Ursu-
lines, and afterwards to Montreal, where she was protected
by the good Mothers of the Hétel-Dieu.,
Unsuccessful in his Jaudable attempts, on account of the
continuance of hostilities between the colonies !, the Cov-
ernor, at last, consented to her return to the Convent, Our
Mothers, struck with the peculiar circumstances of the case,
the long years during which, the two countries being in a
state of warfare, it had been impossible to restore her to her
parents; the changes that might have taken place in her
family, and, above all, the will of Divine Providence
manifesting itself by the course of events, admitted the
interesting captive to the novitiate, in October, 1712,
During the following year, news of the treaty of peace
between France and England restored the colonies to com-
J—In 1711, « fleet under Admiral Walker attempted to take
Quebec.
THE THREE CAPTIVES 181
parative security, and the Ursulines were in daily expectation
of hearing from their beloved novice’s family, She had
taken the white veil, with the name of Sister Esther of the
Infant Jesus, Her two years of probation had not expired,
when, at last, messengers reached Quebec, bearing letters from
Mr, and Mrs, Wheelwright. Her heart was not insensible
to the prospect of beholding once more a beloved father and
mother ; but the voice of grace was louder thau that of
nature, and she found strength to resist the invitation to
return to her family, as she had declined to remain with
her friends at the Chateau, Far from renouncing her cherished
vocation, she entreated the Bishop to hasten the day of her
final engagement, by admitting her to the vows of religion.
She addressed the same petition to the Governor, whom
she considered as her adopted father, and to the community,
the mothers and sisters of her choice, who were now dearer
to her than family or home, After mature deliberation,
taking into consideration that the young girl, according to
the French laws was now of age, and that, on the other hand,
she had no longer the use of the language of her native
country, nor would she find there, the means to practise the
religion she had embraced, ascertaining also that the Bishop,
as well as the Governor, had given their assent, the nuns
admit her to pronounce her vows, thus settling the question,
according to her desires, beyond repeal,
In the eloquent address of Father Bigot to the youthful
novice, at her profession, let us quote the following argn-
ment. ‘“ As long, said the preacher, as she had been a minor,
she had had no opportunity of returning to her country ; but
now that she is of age, hur parents cannot object to her choice
of a vocation, or if they should disapprove, it will be because
they are not aware of its excellence and its sanctity.” He then
exhorts the happy novice to lasting gratitude for the favors
182 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
of Divine Providence in her regard, and tells her she may
well exclaim in the words of the prophet-king : “ The God
who has wrought these wonders in my behalf is the Lord of
the eternal ages. Ever shall he be my God! under his
delightful law I shall live secure !
Mother Esther Wheelwright of the Infant Jesus is one of
those nuns of olden times, whose names are never pronounced
but with love and veneration in the community which she
edified and served during sixty-six years, She is not how-
ever, the only one of the Indian captives who found the
liberty of the soul and the light of faith, in compensation
for earthly misfortunes,
With her we naturally associate Miss Davis and Miss
Jeryan !, rescued like her from captivity among the Abena-
kis, to end their days in the sweet captivity of Jesus Christ
in the monastery.
Miss Mary Ann Davis, in religion Mother Mary Benedict,
was already a professed nun since some years, when our little
Esther entered the convent as a boarder.
Born in the village of Salem, Massachusetts, she had been
taken captive (1686) at the age of six years, by a war party,
after seeing her parents massacred and her house in flames,
To recount her subsequent fate, her adoption by the sachem
of the tribe, who cherished the little orphan more tenderly
than his own children ; her life in the woods, where she
learned to plant the maize, or gather baskets of fragrant
berries, but knew not the taste of bread, nor the use of a
needle, would be to repeat, in part, what has been related
of our interesting Esther. Let us merely tell how another
1—Or Jordan, according to Miss C. A. Baker.
THE THREE CAPTIVES 183
apostle of the Abenakis, Father Rasle, found little Mary
Ann docile to his instructions, and faithful in following his
counsels, till after many difficulties and delays, he succeeded
in extricating the young girl, at the age of seventeen or
eighteen, from the perils and hazards of savage life. Then,
after finding friends for her among the French, he placed her
as a boarder in the convent. This was the “ House of Jesus,”
of which she had heard so much, and which she already
regarded as her future home, Passing from the classes to the
novitiate, in 1698, she was admitted to profession two years
later, and was thus the first Ursuline of English descent in
the monastery of Quebec.
Fifty years spent in the service of Him who had spoken
to her heart there in the depths of the primeval forests, were
not too long to testify, day by day, her gratitude, and to
prove it by her fidelity to the rule she had embraced.
Humble, ineek, laborious, submissive and pious, her life in
the convent was like the fragrant May-flower of the woods
of Maine, delighting all by its gentle perfume, while it hides
itself in the most shady recesses of the valley where it has
chosen its retreat.
The third captive who became an Ursuline nun, was Miss
Mary Dorothea Jeryan. Borne off to the woods at so tender
an age that she had no recollection of any other house but
the wigwam where she was living, she had marked the lapse
of years only by the budding flowers, or the falling snow,
until the same missionary who had baptized Miss Davis, met
this other little wanderer, and taught her to know the true
God. Regenerated in the saving waters of baptism, and in-
structed in the sublime truths of religion, Mary Dorothea felt
her youthful heart beat with the desire essential to an Ursu-
line, that of teaching other souls the way of salvation,
a
184 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
while the heavenly Bridegroom inwardly inviting her, bade
her hope for the day when she would become his consecrated
spouse.
Another missionary succeeding the martyred Father Rasle,
cultivated with care this lily of the woods, Transplanted. .
at length to another soil, after some fifteen years had gone
by, and placed within the pale of civilization, it was yet a
toil to engraft upon those rudimental dispositions the forms
of education and refinement.
Her liberator, Father Joseph Aubery, constituted himself
her teacher, until having acquired a sufficient knowledge of
the French to be able to make herself understood, she was
placed in our classes. The progress of the new pupil was not
rapid ; but our Mothers, having regard to the good will of
the subject, her precious dispositions, her piety and zeal,
admitted her to the novitiate; and, after the usual delay
required by our rules, to profession (1722).
The future career of Mary Dorothea, now known as Mother
i St. Joseph, fully justified the hopes that had been entertained
of her usefulness, The monastery became her second home
and country, a thousand-fold dearer to her than her birth-
place or native land. During the siege of Quebec by the
English in 1759, when the nuns were forced to abandon their
sacred asylum, seeking safety beyond the walls of the
besieged city, nothing could equal the grief of Mother
St. Joseph.
Would the victors, her countrymen, now become the per-
secutors of her community ? Was the country of her adoption
destined to lose the priceless gift of faith through the instru-
mentality of her own race? These afflicting thoughts, joined
to an enfeebled state of health, rendered her exile from her
beloved cloister one long agony. Her heart had received its
death-wound, and when, on the 13th September, she became
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aware of her approaching dissolution, she hailed the approach
of her last hour as a prisoner would welcome the joyful
news of a speedy release. The reception of the last consola-
tions which the Church offers her children, soothed her dying
moments, as she passed away to a better country, on that
memorable 14th September, (1759) which marked the down-
fall of the French government in Canada.
The temporary sojourn of the Ursulines with the beloved
nuns of the General Hospital, during the siege, was marked
in many ways for long remembrance. We shall only men-
tion here with gratitude the cordial hospitality exercised
towards our whole community by those true friends, during
that memorable period, reserving other details for their
proper date,
—
CHAPTER IX
1712 - 1723
THE MONASTERY ENLARGED
Within the spgce of eleven years, from 1712 to 1723, the
monastery attained proportions which were found sufficient
for the wants of its inhabitants till more than a century later.
It was a period when the colony was entering upon a new
phase of its existence. Public calamities were to be followed
by a season of comparative repose and prosperity ; there was
to be a respite from hourly dread of the Iroquois; the future
conquerors of Canada also were, unknowingly, willing to
wait their day. During the judicious administration of Gov-
ernor de Vaudreuil, up to 1725, the resources of the country
186 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
were considerably developed ; many internal improvements
were effected while the population increased to 25,000 souls.
The Ursulines seem to have noted the “signs of the
times,” and made preparations for the coming “ better days.”
As early as 1712, we find them deliberating in chap-
ter, and unanimously deciding upon enlarging the monas-
tery and building a church, notwithstanding the depressed
state of their finances, According to the original plan, the
buildings to be constructed would have completed a quad-
rangle, with a front of more than two hundred feet facing
Donnacona street, and forming a large interior court-yard.
It was Mother LeMaire of the Angels, the last survivor
of the nuns from France, who at the age of seventy-one,
undertook this arduous enterprise, pressing its execution
with vigor, and obtaining, several times, generous subsidies
from her wealthy relatives in Paris, The process of con-
struction was necessarily tedious and expensive; but far
greate” were the difficulties, when it was ascertained that
the plan was really too vast for the immediate wants, as
well as the actual resources of the community. The founda-
tions already commenced had to be abandoned, and begun
anew in another direction, at the price of much loss and delay.
The only part Mother Mary of the Angels saw completed,
was the novitiate, an addition seventy-five feet in length to
the wing styled, La Sainte Famille, which had been the
nuns’ department since 1687, |
The foundations of the church and the parior building were
also commenced by her; but the aged Mother was then
taken from her labors to her eternal rest, and the task of
continuing them devolved on another Superior, Mother An-
gelique of St. John. The building along the street, des-
tined for the conventual entrance and the parlors, was
completed in 1717. Then only could the nuns continue
THE MONASTERY ENLARGED 187
the construction of their “ second temple,” and that they did
with such ardor, that they labored at it with their own hands.
The annals relate the building of the church as follows :
“On recommencing the labors, we dressed a little Indian
boy, to represent the Infant Jesus, and prepared him to lay
the corner-stone in honor of St. Joseph. Then each one
devoted herself, according as she was capable, to contribute
to the erection of that sacred edifice which had so long been
in contemplation, At the hours when the masons were
absent for their meals, we used to mount the scaffolding,
carrying up the stone and the mortar, our Mother Superior
leading the way, and the community following her example
with alacrity and emulation, With the blessing of God,
every thing succeeded marvellously.
“ When the masons were served, all returned to their re-
spective labors, some to painting, gilding or embroidery ; some
wrought tapestry, or bark-work, others made artificial flowers,
Their earnings served to augment our revenues and to aid in
paying the workmen. During all this time, adds the annalist,
we omitted none of our spiritual exercices, we infringed upon
none of our holy rules and observances, We have also to
be thankful that not one of the workmen met with any
accident while working on our buildings. A kind Providence
has blessed us in a special manner, enabling us to meet all
these expenses, notwithstanding the loss of half our income
by the reduction of the funds on the Hotel de Ville, in Paris.”
The construction of the church was finished. An altar
had been raised, and, although no pillars yet lifted their
crowning capitals around it, no sculptured decorations
adorned the sanctuary, no paintings hung along the naked
walls, yet the sacred edifice, although bare of all ornament,
was a desirable exchange from that small apartment which
had served as a chapel ‘for the last thirty years. Great,
188 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
therefore, were the rejoicings among the inmates of the
cloister,
The friendly citizens of Quebec shared the joy of the nuns,
as they proved by coming in large numbers to celebrate with
them three consecutive festivals: the ceremony of the con-
secration, the feast of the Assumption, and that of the holy
relics, At all these pious festivities Bishop Saint-Valier
presided, with his clergy, in the midst of all that was then
most distinguished in the city.
Although blessed, the chapel still required the presence
of workmen, and did not serve regularly for mass and the
other observances, until the 19th March following (1723).
It belonged to St. Joseph, the titular patron of the church
and of the monastery, to transfer the Blessed Sacrament to
the new altar as to another Nazareth, after a longer exile
than was that of the Holy Family in Egypt.
It was only thirteen years later (1735) ! that the architec-
tural decorations, designed, it is said, after a plan of the
private chapel of Louis XIV, gave the last finish to the
interior, rendering the church of the Ursulines one of the
neatest, considering its dimensions, of the four principal
churches in the city. The gilding, of which there is that pro-
fusion required by the taste of those times, was all executed
by the patient toil of the nuns themselves,
The paintings with which it is adorned at the present
day, were acquired only at the beginning of the nineteenth
century,
1—The college of the Jesuits commenced in 1635, was completed
about the same time (1730).
QUEBEC IN 1720 189
CHAPTER X
oo
QUEBEC IN 1720
THE NOVITIATE OF THE URSULINES AT THE SAME DATE
An accurate historian, writing in 1720, has left us a pic-
ture of life and manners in Quebec, at once graphic and
curious in its details, which will help to set off another picture,
less known, that of life and society in the cloister,
Recording his personal observations, Charlevoix says:
“ There are not more than 7,000 souls in Quebec; but one
finds there a little world where all is select, and calculated to
form an agreeable society. 4 Governor General with his
staff, nobles, officers, and troops ; an Intendant, with a Sv pe-
rior Council, and inferior courts ; a Commissary of Marine, a
Grand Provost, a Grand Voyer (trustee of roads) ; a Super-
intendant of Streams and Forests, whose jurisdiction is cer-
tainly the most extensive in the world ; merchants in easy
circumstances, or, at least, living as if they were; a Bishop
and a numerons clergy: Recollets and Jesuits; three well
established communities of nuns; other circles elsewhere,
as brilliant as those surrounding the Governor and Intendant,
In short, it seems to me, that for all classes of persons, there
are abundant means of passing the time agreeably. Every
one contributes thereto to his utmost. There are games and
excursious, the parties using in summer des caléches or canoes ;
in winter they have sledges and snow-shoes to bear them
over the snow and ice. Hunting is a favorite amusement :
many gentlefolks have no other resource for living comfort-
ably,
“ Current news is confined to a few topics, as the country
at
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190 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
does not afford many, The news from Europe comes all at
once, but lasts all the year, furnishing endless comments upon
the past and conjecture about the future. The arts and sciences
have their turn, so that conversation never languishes,
“ The Canadians breathe, from their earliest years, an air
of liberty which renders them very agreeable in social inter-
course, Nowhere else is our language spoken with greater
purity and free from any defective accent.
“ There are no rich people here; if there were they would
do honor to their fortune, as very few persons trouble them-
selves about laying up riches. They live well, if they can
also afford to dress well; if not, they spare at table in order
to wear richer apparel, And it must be allowed that dress
becomes our Canadians, They are a fine-looking people, and
the best blood of France runs in their veins. Good humour,
refined and genteel manners, are common to all, and rusticity
either in language or habits is unknown, even in the distant
country-places,”
Thus far our historian, Let us now inquire at the Ursu-
lines, how that “ little world ” described as so delightful is
represented with them. Entering the novitiate, new and well
lighted, commanding a pleasant prospect from its windows
that overlook the garden and a wide extending landscape, we
find assembled under the eye of a grave but gentle novice-
mistress, twenty young ladies, of whom four wear the badge
of probation, the white veil, These must have but lately
renounced the good cheer, the pleasures and amusements,
which even the dispassionate Jesuit seems to have found so
engaging.
A glance upon the old register shail be our guide, for in
the cloister rank and title count as nothing: the only prece-
THE NOVITIATE IN 1720 191
dence acknowledged among sister-novices, is founded on the
relative date of their entry, The family name, however
proud or honorable, is laid aside, and the spouse of Christ is
henceforth known by some appellation that serves to remind
her of heaven more than of earth.
First, then, in seniority of profession, we meet Sister Esther
Wheelwright of the Infant Jesus, She has nearly completed
her sixth year in the novitiate, and will therefore soon
exchange the first place here for the last in the cominounity ;
and happier will she esteem herself in occupying that last
place, than when, in later years, she will be called to govern
the monastery as Superior, Her history is somewhat known
to our readers, as well as that of the last white-veiled novice,
Sister Mary Dorothea Jeryan of St. Joseph ; we have called
them: “ The Captives.”
Unmindful of the etiquette of the convent, we shall revive,
for the moment, discarded titles, to present Miss Charlotte
de Muy (Sister St. Helen), daughter of the Chevalier Dan-
neau de Muy, Governor of Louisiana; and her cousin Marie-
Anne de Boucherville (Sister St. Ignatius), naming one of
her venerable ancestors, Pierre Boucher de Boucherville, first
Governor Of Three Rivers,
Not six months after the entry of Miss de Muy, the
monastery-door opened to the eager appeal of Miss Catherine
de Ramesay, nc v known as Sister St. Radegonde, daughter
of the Chevalier Claude de Ramesay, Seigneur of Sorel and
Ste. Marie-le-Monnoir, Governor of Montreal, The absence
of Miss de Ramesay and Miss de Muy from the circles of
fashion in Montreal, doubtless produced a sensation at the
time. In the parental mansion, especially, there was a void
left which it was difficult to fill. But they, if not indifferent
to the charms of a flattering world and their own high posi-
tion, found strength to despise them, and they considered it
, mai ‘4
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192 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
as gain to exchange the highest worldly distinctions their
country could afford, for the humblest rank in the House of
the Lord.
For the benetit of such as cannot believe in a disin-
terested sacrifice, let us open the annals at once, to see to
what rank Miss de Ramesay aspired in religion, on quitting
the highest in socie’y. “ From the day of her entrance into
the novitiate, she gave proof of the excellence of her vocation
by laboring seriously to advance in perfection. She pro-
nounced her vows in the most edifying dispositions, to her
great satisfaction as well as ours. From this moment she
advanced daily in the practice of every virtue, detached from
every thing created, zealous for the instruction of youth, and
for all that regarded the service of God, careful to avoid
the parlor, and every thing that could remind her of the
world she had abandoned.”
As to Mother Marie-Anne de Boucherville of St. Ignatius,
one line will suffice to characterize her, On our usual author-
ity, the annals, we can assert that she had retained one
predominant passion: it was “to employ every moment of
her time for the benefit of the community, or in aiding and
rendering service to her Sisters. She rejoiced to be second in
the offices, seeking in the obedience she rendered her com-
panion, more frequent opportunities to practise her favorite
virtue, humility.”
Not less edifying in piety and abnegation, was the religious
career of Mother de Muy of St. Helen, whose health gave
small promise of a long life. Delicate and fragile as was the
casket, the pearl it enclosed was of great price. A gifted and
energetic mind, “ enabled her to render great services in the
classes, notwithstanding the long sufferings which she endured
with astonishing courage.” To her pen, as aunalist, the Con-
vent owes long and interesting details of the Seven Years’
THE NOVITIATE IN 1720 193
War, which closed the French domination in Canada, her own
‘death on that memorable 14h September, silently imparting
new pathos to the sad picture she draws of the distress and
defeat of her countrymen.
But returning now to the 31st August, 1717, the day
when Miss Ramesay, in the midst of the élite of the society
both of Quebec and Montreal, receives the white veil from
the hands of Bishop Saint-Valier, and Father Gerard, 8. J.,
makes a “ravishing discourse” on the happiness to be
found in the service of God, we may discover among his
hearers the sudden awakening of another religions vocation,
The sermon wrought the conversion of a “ young world-
ling,” whom we now introduce as Sister St. Borgia, lately
Miss Catherine Margaret des Meloises, That white veil and
linen band conceal a brow which was then adorned with all
that is most admired in wreathing tress, or sparkling gem, or
opening rose-bud, That sable robe of serge replaces the rich
brocade or floating gossamer, that often enveloped her grace-
ful form, radiant with the fickle joys of the ball-room, at the
Castle, the palace of the Intendant, or the “ brilliant circles
elsewhere,”
The transformation is due to divine grace, which, after
pursuing her with gentle importunity from her early years,
had asserted its claims victoriously on the occasion just
alluded to, Issuing from the chapel, where the voice of an
internal monitor had seconded the eloquence of the sacred
preacher, unable to control her emotion, she flies from the
presence of the gay company that had attended her ; she
hastens along the yet deserted streets, “ Passing near the
Jesuits’ church, she enters. There, alone with her reflections
in the presence of God, listening to the reproaches of her
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194 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
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conscience and to the voice of grace, she begins to detest a
life of vanity ; she begs pardon for her long resistance
and delay; she implores the divine mercy for strength
and courage to break the ties that bind her to the world,
humbly confessing her own weakness and inability without
the powerful aid of Heaven: she addresses herself to the
Blessed Virgin and to the saints, particularly to St. Francis
Borgia, to whom she had a special devotion,
“ Her prayer had been already accepted ; she arose com-
forted, strengthened in her resolution to give herself entirely
.0 God, During the two years she was still obliged to delay
entering the monastery, never more was she to be met with
at soiree or ball, or pleasure-party. And when, at last, having
arranged with her brother and sisters all that regarded her
inheritance, she humbly demanded and obtained admittance
among the daughters of St. Ursula, the novitiate appeared to
her the gate of paradise. She longed for the day, when she
would put off her wordly attire, as a mark of her voluntary
divorce with the world.
“ From that moment she seemed indeed to become a new
creature in Jesus Christ. Her piety was i,ost exemplary,
her charity unbounded. Her detachment, from self and
from every thing earthly ; her mortification, her fidelity to
the observance of the rule and her holy engagements,
rendered her a bright example of what is meant by religious
perfection, It was necessary, on more than one occasion, to
moderate her fervor, which always exceeded her strength.
Her services, which were extended to all, even to the lay-
sisters in their laborious avocations, were especially precious
in the classes, where her zeal for the salvation of souls, and
her own experience of the vanity of the world, made her
eloquent in exhorting her young charge to avoid its snares,
and to assure their salvation by the practice of virtue,
THE NOVITIATE IN 1720 195
“ Although she loved her family tenderly, she was extreme-
ly guarded in speaking of her relatives, and if, in conver-
sation, there was any allusion to the nobility of her birth,
she evidently suffered and would adroitly introduce some
other topic of discourse.
“ What suited her humility better was to be reminded of
her defects ; and seeking to expiate the self-love which once
led her to relish compliments, she would willingly tax herself
with hypocrisy when her picty, for waut of some other fault
more apparent, would be discreetly blamed as excessive.
“In short, our fervent Mother St. Borgia pressed with
such ardor the work of her perfection that she won her
crown early, passing from the novitiate, her earthly paradise,
to that above, just as she was completing the fourth year of |
her religious profession.”
We have been insensibly led to dwell too long, per-
haps, upon the interesting Miss des Meloises. The “ little
world ” of Quebec has yet other representatives of its highest
circles in this novitiate of 1720. Here are the two daughters
of Mr. Charles Gaillard, member of the Supreme Council,
Sister Marie-Louise of the Virgin and Sister Marie-Clare of
St. Thomas, two fervent young.girls, who chose the narrow
path, in preference to the broad and flowery one, before
they had attained their sixteenth year.
Here we also find daughters of merchants and professional
men, of the type named by our historian, “in easy circum-
stances.” One of these, Miss Angelique Perthuis, (Sister of
the Angels) wears the white veil; among the professed, are
Sister St. Frai.cis Xavier, (Miss Louise Pinguet-Vaucours),
Sister Terésa of Jesus, (Miss Francoise Baudouin), Sister
St. Elizabeth, (Miss Angelique Langlois), Sister St. Stan-
islaus, (Miss Angelique Normandin), These four young girls
196 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
discovered in early youth that the world, all fascinating as
it may appear, is insufficient to satisfy the cravings of the soul
for happiness ; and they sought it in the service of Him who
has declared that “ His yoke is easy and His burden light.”
The testimony of those who lived with them till the close
of their peaceful lives, is that they found within the cloister
“the hundred-fold ” that is promised by One who cannot
deceive
Let us now introduce a few more young ladies from Mont-
real. In the course of the same year that saw Miss de Rame-
say quit the gay world for the cloister, her example was
followed by three of her companions. One of these is Miss
Marie-Renée du Mesnil, (Sister St. Gertrude), whose father
accumulates the titles of Major in the army, Lieu‘enant of
the Navy, Knight of the Order of St. Louis, &c. “This amiable
Mother, writes the annalist thirty-four years later, adorned
with all the qualities that would have enabled her to occupy
with advantage the high position Providence had assigned
her in soeiety, esteemed above all things a life hidden in
God. Penetrated with sentiments of humility, and submissive
to the will of Heaven, she rejoiced in those infirmities which
rendered her incapable of occupying any office of importance,
or of discharging those duties of the institute, at- once so
delightful to an Ursuline, while they are so meritorious, and
honorable.”
Another of Montreal’s high-born ladies, among our novices,
is Sister St. Anthony, daughter of M. Charles Juchereau Du-
chesnay. Like the other young ladies we have named from
Montreal, Miss Teresa Juchereau formed her first acquaint-
ance with the Ursulines as a boarder. Returning to the
bosom of her family, where she was cherished most tenderly,
at the same time that she was surrounded by all that is best
THE NOVITIATE IN 1720 197
calculated to dazzle the youthful imagination and soften the
heart, she had not always paused to distinguish between
what she owed to her position in society, and what she was
giving to her own love of the world and to vanity, That dan-
gerous passion was taking deep root in her heart, while the
daily round of dissipation and pleasure was as surely extin-
guishing all true piety, Our annalist notes the vocation of
Miss Jucherea™ as “ a conquest of grace, the fruit of a fervent
retreat, This privileged soul, she says, won heaven early, her
exile being abridged by the Divine Master in order to hasten
her reward.”
As to Miss de Repentigny (Sister St. Agatha), although
Miss Juchereau’s friend, we shall reserve the particulars of
her vocation for another moment. We therefore introduce
next, Miss Elizabeth Josephte de Villedonné, whose father
was Etienne de Villedonné, Captain of a detachment of the
Navy. Unlike the two last-named young ladies, Miss de
Villedonné, during the two or three years of her absence
from the convent, always shared reluctantly the gay amuse-
ments that uffered her their attractions.
Three other novices remain to be introduced: they are not
from the cities of Quebec or Montreal, but from country-
manor or farm-house, not less attractive.
From the Island of Orleans there is Sister St. Margaret,
(Miss Le Clerc); from Chateau Richer, Sister St. Monica
(Miss Marguerite Cloutier) ; from the parish of St. Joachim,
Sister St. Agnes, (Miss Marie-Anne Buteau), who is destined
to outlive all her companions of the novitiate, prolonging her
active and useful existence to the age of eighty - three
years.
The ceremony of this introduction has been long, yet
would we name our three good lay-sisters, whose services are
not less precious in the eyes of God, nor less appreciated
198 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
by the community, than those of the choir-sisters who labor
in the Institute,
They are Sisters St. Thecla (Blanche Marier), Mary of the
Resurrection (Marie-Anne Racine), and St. Andrew (Marie-
Julienne Maufis), The two last-named live cheerfully
their fifty years, in the humble occupations to which are
attached equal rewards, and far greater facilities for acquiring
them, than in the more arduous, or more responsible offices
in the community.
As we retire from that novitiate, where we have seen so
many young ladies generously triumphing over the senti-
ments of nature, and trampling upon all that is most esteemed
and sought after in the world, are there not some among
our readers who are struck with apprehension and pity, as if
they had just beheld so many victims, doomed to feel the intol-
erable weight of perpetual solitude, and to drag out their
weary existence in the bonds of an unvarying submission to
obedience and a severe rule? Are there not some who forget
what the Apostle says of himself, “that the world is crucified
to him, as he is to the world, and yet that he superabounds
in joy?”
But the firm decision of each at the trying moment of sepa-
ratiou from home, and her perseverance in her cherished
vocation, are the best reply to any misgiving of the kind.
Truly the cloistered nun may say: “ I have separated myself
from all that the world holds dear and delightful, but I have
done so willingly, and I consider such a loss my greatest
gain. It is my pleasure, my honor, henceforth to seek to live
for God alone, serving my fellow-creatures for the love of
God. I trust myself to one who does not change; in Him I
shall find a remedy for my own inconstancy. Here, as
the author of the /mitation of Christ promises, I am excited
THE NOVITIATE IN 1720 199
_to good by example, and warned from evil by admonition.
Here are diverse offices, and one spirit of charity. Here,
when one is weary of attendance to duty, another supplies
her place; while one reads, many are edified, and each
having her weekly course, all are mutually relieved. When
one happily sleeps in the Lord, she has many intercessors
to deliver her the sooner from the place of expiation. Her
labor and good conversation will not be forgotten, but will
profit many in future times for an example.”
“ Here, as St. Clement and St. Basil tell, one is able to
pray for me to God, another to console me when sick, another
to teach me what is useful to salvation, Another will correct
me with kindness, or consult together with me like a friend ;
and all will love me truly, without guile, without flattery.
O sweet attendance of friends! O blessed ministry of com-
forters ! O the faithful services of those who fear only God !
O the true simplicity which is incapable of a falsehood! O
the honorable labor which is in obedience to God, to please
God !
“ O monastic life, holy, angelical, blessed! No tongue can
express the sentiments of love which 1 feel for thee, no voice
can depict the joy with which thou dost fill my heart!”
No wonder, then, that the happy soul, chosen by Heaven
for so sublime a vocation, makes her whole life-time one
hymn of thanksgiving.
By fidelity to her rule, to prayer, and the sacraments, she
obtains strength to sustain with joy the gentle yoke of
Christ ; laboring at stated hours in the school-room or in the
service of her sisters, having no other end in view but to
accomplish her duty for the love of God. But let us aiso
inquire, what provision has been made for relaxation and
repose.
The order of the day, as mapped out in olden times, and
200 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
still adhered to as much as possible, is something remark-
able. Each hour has, it is true, its allotted occupation, from
the time when the bell at four o’clock announces the hour
to rise, till the signal for retiring before nine in the evening ;
yet with such amplitude of space, such ‘ roominess ” as
Faber calls it, that one duty presses not on the steps of
another, in such a manner as to give the feeling of being
enchained or enslaved. There are intervals, of more or less
duration, which serve as a halt or resting-spot for the feeble,
at the same time that it is a spur to the vigorous, by affording
occasion for some spontaneous act of piety, kindness or
zeal,
The hour of recreation is esteemed of the same value for
heaven as the hour of prayer; it is enjoyed with zest, in
proportion to the silence that precedes, The gaiety of con-
versation is pure and sincere. It is the family circle, without
its anxieties and cares; it is society, without its tedious
forms and shallow compliments.
There are excursions too, in summer, when the day is
fine ; for the convent grounds are spacious, and not devoid
of shade. The birds seem to sing more sweetly there than
anywhere else, and build their nests, in security, in every
clump of lilac, plum, or cherry-tree. The buzz and hum of
bees and every gay-winged insect that loves to nestle in the
cups of flowers, make music, that is not lost by the over
boisterous merriment of the groups that stroll leisurely
through the winding alleys of the old garden.
Here, a favorite bed of pansies, there, a mingled glow of
roses, pinks, and lilies, the gaudy tulip or the gladiolus,
attract and delight the eye; or it is the growth of some
shrub or tree that is watched with interest. The wonders of
vegetable life, the special beauty of each leaf, afford pleasure
to the contemplative mind, shadowing forth the beauties and
THE CHAPEL OF THE SAINTS 201
wonders of that unseen world to which she constently
aspires,
Or, let it be a later hour, when the offices and duties of
the day being over, the evening is closing around the
monastery in that mysterious silence which is its greatest
charm. Then it is that the sacred words of the divine Office
are heard, from many voices that form but one chant, in
which the Angels join, although their heavenly accents may
be inaudible to mortal ear.
Thus falls the curtain of night around the peaceful cloister,
while each one, according to the attractions of grace, enters
into the recesses of her own conscience : there, finding all at
rest, all passions hushed, who can tell the deep feeling of
security and thanksgiving that sweetly fills the soul, rendering
that humble cell an image and an anticipation of Paradise ?
CHAPTER XI
THE CHAPEL OF THE SAINTS
A little sanctuary, much frequented by the inmates of the
cloister, a sort of pilgrimage to which they resort with
special confidence and consolation, is known as the “chapel of
the Saints.” An ancient statue of Our Lady of Great Power
occupies the centre of the altar, amid sculptured decora-
tions, the whole breadth of the wall on either side being
covered with paintings and reliquaries of various size and
form, the larger ones resting on gilded stands, the smaller
ones, enclosed under glass, in the four pilasters that support
the entablature.
202 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
But the wealth of the chapel consists in the quantity of
relics with which it has been endowed, The antiquity of the
shrines that enclose them, and the names of the donors,
add new interest to the objects already so precious in them-
selves,
Among the first of these pious donors, we may mention
Dom Claude Martin, a Benedictine monk. He had already,
in 1662, procured for the monastery which his revered
Mother had founded, and where she was then living, the
relics of the martyrs, Justus, Modestus, Maximinus and
Felix.
One of the Ursulines of Metz sent us from Cologne pre-
cious relics of St. Ursula and her companions, Another friend,
Madame de Guise, Abbess of Montmartre, gave others. In
1671, Mother Le Maire of the Angels, coming to the mon-
astery, brought relics of the martyrs Placidus, Firminus,
Januarius, Peregrinus and Honorius, which her brother the
Abbé Le Maire, had procured for her in Rome. Some years
later, Father C. Boileau, another relative of Mother Mary of
the Angels, enriched the monastery with a casket containing
the entire body of the holy martyr St. Clement, which he had
obtained from Pope Innocent XI, Other relics of the Martyrs,
Vitalis, Dionysius, Candidus, Marcellinus, &¢c., whose names
are venerable and illustrious for their sufferings for Jesus’
sake, were bestowed by the same generous friend.
In short, so large a quantity of these treasures had been
received from various pious donors that, in 1674, it was
decided to prepare a chapel where they might be deposited
with special honor,
This primitive chapel perished in the conflagration of the
church and choir, of which it formed a part, in 1686. But
the relics were not suffered to perish. A lay-sister, anim-
ated with fervor that gave her new strength and courage,
THE CHAPEL OF THE SAINTS 203
persisted in transporting them, till she had nearly become
herself a martyr to her pious zeal, as we have elsewhere
related,
In times more recent, other treasures of a similar nature
have been added. Looking over the catalogue, we find the
names of St, Augustine, the great legislator of monastic insti-
tutions, St. Francis of Sales, ‘‘ the most amiable saint; ”
Ignatius of Loyola and others formed to sanctity in his
Society, St. Francis Xavier, St. Aloysius and St, Stanislaus,
the patrons of youth; St. Angela Merici. foundress of the
Ursulines, St. Magdalen de Pazzi, &c, ‘he recent martyrs
of China and Japan are also represented there.
Our chapel of the Saints has other objects of still higher anti-
quity. Like the “ Sainte chapelle ” in Paris, it has a particle
of the true Cross and of the Crown of Thorns; the former
enclosed in a small crystal tube, forms the centre of a silver
cross about fourteen inches in height. It was presented to
the Monastery in 1677, by Dom Claude Martin.
Is it necessary, here, to justify the veneration given to the
relics of Saints? to tell why, and how, we honor the friends
of God, the champions and defenders of the Faith? And,
when they have gone to their reward, how we love to have
some memento of them, some object to recall them to mind,
with the thought of the heaven where they are rewarded, and
where we finally hope one day to dwell with them ?
It is a sentiment so natural that we all practise the devo-
tion to relics, when our friends or relatives are concerned,
Not many years ago, Washington’s grateful countrymen bore
in a procession a lock of his hair, as a trophy of which they
might be proud, and were not afraid of being called super-
stitious, Our shrines and reliquaries enclose similar objects,
and we venerate them with a kindred feeling, heightened by
204 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
the knowledge of favors granted by Heaven, on more than
one occasion, to those who thus honor them “ whom God
delights to honor.” It is a feeling similar to that which
renders the Catacombs sacred, or makes the soil of the arena
within the crumbling Coliseum seem holy ground,
Yes! when the first twilight shades are descending, after
that plaintive anthem of the Vesper-Office, 7n manus tuas
Domine, ete., “ Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my
spirit,” one loves to kneel in that little sanctuary where
repose so many memorials of those that have given their soul
to God in peace. And when, at earliest dawn, one enters
there, remembering those who like the Psalmist could say:
Ad te cde luce vigilo, “ to thee, O Lord, have I watched
from the earliest light of day,” the soul will ever be refreshed,
and prepared for the sacred hour of morning prayer, Nor is
it less touching to bring to mind, that for the last one hun-
dred and seventy years, every nun who has lived in the soli-
tude of the Old Monastery, has often knelt in prayer before
the antique statue of Our Lady of Great Power, in that same
quiet chapel.
The ashes of the heroic foundresses, those of the Venerable
Mother, who now awaits the highest honors the Church of
God awards to her most faithful children, seem to speak in
words of gentle encouragement, Oh! how fervently should
each one pray that nothing may ever penetrate within the
precincts of the monastery to disturb in the least the spirit
of peace and sanctity which is here so palpably felt. But
there is something here more tangible, even, than the spirit
of the place: there are also
Ex Voros
An ex voto! the word tells of pressing danger and of
succor obtained in the moment of peril. It tells of some
e than
n God
which
) arena
, after
s tuas
id my
where
ir soul
enters
1 say:
atched
eshed,
Nor is
» hun-
e soli-
before
{ same
erable
rch of
eak in
should
‘in the
spirit
But
) Spirit
THE CHAPEL |» THE SAINTS 205
suffering relieved, for which there was no earthly alleviation
to be obtained, And who has not, at some time, suffered
such anxiety, or seen such woe threatening, that there went
up to God that deep cry of the heart which pierced the
heavens, and brought speedy help for the hour of need ?
For all who have thus prayed, that little twinkling flame,
dimly lighting an ancient sanctuary, has a language; and
they turn to view it again, wit. more of sympathy than
curiosity, If they have read a delicious page in the
“ Histoire du Monastere,” under the title of “ La Lampe
qui ne séteint pas,” they ask no further explanation. For
those who have not, we shall inscribe here the following
lines on
Tue Vorive Lame
O twinkling Lamp! thy feeble ray
Sheds no refulgent glare ;
And yet thou knowest no decay,
Since once, thrice fifty years away,
Thou first wast trimmed with care,
Dire was the conflict, when her chains
That maiden sought to break :
Now in her soul triumphant reigns
God’s holy love, and now it wanes,—
Tis earthly flames that wake.
““O Mother Powerful, lend thine aid !
Pity my dire distress !
I’ve fled me to this cloister’s shade,
Let now all worldly phantoms fade,
If Heaven my project bless.”
“ Will not the pitying Virgin hear
A suppliant in her need ?
Will she not make my pathway clear,
Sending me grace to persevere,
From all this darkness freed? ”
206 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Lo! swift descénding from on high,
Peace to her bosom f!ows :
As swift the gloom and sorrow fly,—
Her soul in sweet security,
Forgets its recent throes.
Vor light so pure in darkest hour,
A Lamp burns near the shrine
Where Mary, Mother of Great Power,
Still hears our prayers, and graces shower,
Where beams so tender shine.
Now, many circling years have sped
While yet that tiny flame,
By gratitude is fondly fed,
As when at first its light was shed
Around that high-born dame.
Still does it point the way secure
To Her, our Queen above,
Whose tender bosom, ever pure,
Pities the woes we may endure,
And succors us with love.
Come, then, at twilight’s pensive hour;
Come, in the early dawn !
Come, when the skies around you lower,
Come te Our Lady of Great Power,
Sure Help of the forlorn!
Though titles new, round Mary’s name,
May cluster every year,
Yet as I view that votive flame,
Lit by the hand of noble dame,
I love the more that ancient claim,
“¢ MOTHER OF Power” reign here !
Who, then, had lit that tiny lamp before the shrine of Our
Lady of Great Power ? that lamp which ..as flickered and
spent daily its little life to see it perpetually renewed during
one hundred and seventy years? That pious maiden’s name
THE CHAPEL OF THE SAINTS 207
was Marie Madeleine de Repentigny. Her vocation affords an
instance of the manner in which God sometimes pursues a
soul, rebellious at first, forcing her, as it were, to take place
at the “ marriage feast ” to which He had long invited her
by the voice of His secret inspirations.
The de Repentigny family were among the first of the
nobility that came out to settle in the colony. Mother Mary
of the Incarnation makes mention of them with the highest
praise, as early as 1645. The daughters were always to be
found among our boarders, Marie-Madeleine had her turn
from the age of about ten years, till her education was consid-
ered to be in accordance with her rank and position in
society.
On leaving the convent, she, li!.e many others, had not
formed to herself any fixed plan of life, and soon found her-
self surrounded with those temptations that often beset the
pathway of a young girl on her entry into the world.
Gay parties of pleasure, frivolous amusements, idle con-
versations, filled up the precious hours from day to day,
leaving her little time for reflection, serious reading, or prayer,
The prestige of rank, wit and beauty on the one side, that of
merit, politeness and noble demeanor on the other, soon
resulted in the preliminaries of an alliance, which appeared
advantageous in the eyes of the world; and which met with
the approval of Marie-Madeleine’s parents, as well as those
of the young officer, her intended, who was a relative of the
family. On such occasions, when all seems so bright in the
future, who thinks of seriously consulting to know the will
of God ?
Suddenly the young officer is called away on duty, Alas,
for the fallacious promises of earthly happiness! The firss
report brings tidings of his death !
ee
EE I it
208 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
To the violent grief and mourning of the first months,
succeeds an attempt to dissipate this irksome gloom of mind
by plunging anew into the whirl of worldly pleasures, But
the kind hand of Providence was still extended, wait-
ing the inoment to reclaim this prodigal child, and lead her
to an abode cf peace and security, At one of the churches
in the city, an eloquent and zealous Jesuit was giving the
exercises of a retreat for young ladies, Marie Madeleine
went with the rest, but soon found that the sacred orator was
preaching—so it seemed to her-—for her alone.
“What will it avail a man to gain the whole world, and
yet to lose his own soul, or what shall he give in exchange
for his soul?” .
These soleinn words of our Blessed Lord sank deep into
her soul, and she then perceived that there had been a void
in her heart, which the vanities of the world had never been
able to fill, While plunged in serious thought, the salvation
of her soul stands before her, as an all important affair, She
takes time for reflection, and beginning to perceive the designs
oi Providence, she resolves to correspond to them, After due
consultation, she solicits admission into the novitiate of the
Ursulines, The nuns, remembering her many good qualities,
without hesitation, accepted her,
But no sooner had she reached Quebec, than she began
experience the torments of doubt and perplexity. “ Was
she truly called? Had she strength to embrace the rules
of the religious state, the austerities of the cloister ? ”
She overcomes this first temptation generously, conscious
that a passing feeling of repugnance is no proof that she is
not in the path of duty. On entering the novitiate, the trial
disappears, but soon it returns with such violence that the
convent seems to her as irksome as it had at first appeared
delightful.
EDUCATION IN THE CONVENT 209
But Marie Madeleine, now Sister St. Agatha, had learned
the force of prayer. She takes refuge at the feet of Mary.
She calls upon her as the Mother of Mercy, the Virgin most
Potent, and is heard. The clouds have rolle¢ back from her .
‘soul, that now basks in the effulgence of joy !
Confirmed, henceforth, in her vocation; grateful for the
protection of Heaven, she begs permission to found a per-
petual memento of the grace, the invisible light she has
received. Her own life, cheerful, courageous, mortified, during
the twenty years she had yet to spend within the monastery,
was another light, rejoicing her companions more than the
Votive Lump which she daily trimmed with sentiments ever
fresh of piety and gratitude.
CHAPTER XII
1682 - 1739
EDUCATION IN THE CONVENT
In picturing the Monastery,at any period, we must surround
it with that interesting portion of humanity, joyous, careless,
ingenuous youth.
For the sake of these lambkins of the fold of Christ, the
cloister of the Ursulines is not as strict as in the contemplative
orders, The conventual door opens as readily to the appeal
of children to be instructed as if it had not a double lock. The
welcome that awaits a pupil is as warm, the greeting 23
tender, as if the inmates of the convent were the household
friends of her infancy.
14
iithemennidtindendhiahemiehatines
210 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
The name of “ Mother”, which she is allowed to bestow on
those who are receiving her with open arms, tells the
measure of love she may expect, the amount of care and
solicitude she may claim as her right. For the spouse of
Jesus remembers the word of Him, who once, taking in His
arms little children, blessed them, saying: “ Let little
children come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is
the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever receiveth one of these
little ones in my name, receiveth me.” Far from regarding
the duties of a teacher as irksome, she rejoices in them, She
esteems no employment more sweet and honorable, than that
of forming the youthful heart to piety, and storing the tender
mind with useful knowledge, convinced that she is thus
contributing, most certainly, to the welfare and happiness of
society.
The boarding-school, like the community, is a little
commonwealth in itself, with its own statutes, privileges, and
immunities. The “local government,” nominated by the
Superior, is composed of a mistress-general, with her staff of
teachers and aids, as many as may be required for the
intellectual, the spiritual, and the physical wants of the
pupils, .
It is the mistress-general who welcomes the little stranger
as she enters, and dries the tears that will come when part-
ing from fond parents for the first time. It is she who
comforts the trembling child with gentle words, and conducts
her to the chapel, near by, to ask the blessing of God on her
sojourn in the monastery. ‘Then, the same maternal hand,
after weighing the little stock of knowledge the new pupil
may already possess, guides her to the class to which she
will belong, continuing, as the year advances, to note her
progress by the report of the different teachers: for the
EDUCATION IN TIE CONVENT 211
mistress-general is entrusted with the monthly distri-
bution of certificates, and is responsible to the parents.
Tn short, she is the intermediary of authority, maintaining
that of the other mistresses, and applying to the Supe-
rior in all cases beyond the limits of her own jurisdiction.
Thus, as the Apostle has advised, “ all things are settled in
order, that all being of one mind and living in union, the
God of peace and love may be with His servants.”
Our little pupil is soon at home in the convent, and pass-
ing from the class-rooms, where the toil of learning is sweet-
ened by the kindness of the teacher, to the refectory where
she is plentifully served ; to the recreation-hall, or the play-
grounds, where innocent sports make the hour pass only too
swiftly, she forgets the sadness of the parting scene at the
conventual door,
Then, as the months roll on, the good seed, destined to
produce ten or a hundredfold, is gradually sown: the love
of God, the fear of offending Him, respect for authority, fidel-
ity to order and duty, habits of virtue and self-government :
such is the basis which the conscientious teacher seeks to lay,
broad and deep, when laboring to form the character of her
youthful charge,
In the early part of the eighteenth century, the course of
studies in our schools, was much the same as that followed in
the mother-house in Paris, the Ursulines of Quebec having
adopted, with the constitutions of that Congregation, their rule.
for the educational department. The .wrriculwm embraced
reading and grammar ; arithmetic and penmanship ; religious
instruction, including sacred history, with occasional recita-
tions in prose and verse, to impart a taste for reading, as
well as to ornament the memory and improve the mind,
912 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Dramatic dialogues on moral and pious subjects, pastorals,
or complimentary apologues on anniversary occasions, were
held in esteem, as a means of forming the pupils to grace-
fulness of manners, and that degree of modest assurance
which is so becoming, yet so difficult to attain in youth.
Embroidery, in its various styles, and needle-work in gener. |,
teceived great attention, as well as domestic economy.
Such a course, announced in the prospectus of an educa-
tional institution at the present day, would excite surprise
and be declared positively too elementary. Yet we may be
allowed to doubt, whether any system of modern education
can be found that does greater justice to its recipient, than
the old training did, the chief object of which seems to have
been to prepare the young for the great aim of life: that of
living according to the precepts of religion, and performing
well the duties of one’s station in society,
When we can name such women as Madame de Mainte-
non, and many other distinguished ladies of her time; when
‘we see a Marchioness de Vaudreuil, a pupil of our convent,
called (1709) without any further preparation, to fill the
office of sub-governess to princes of the royal line of Bour-
bon; when we have reac the lives and the writings of many
of our ancient nuns, we cannot but admit that there are
reasons for not depreciating the old system of education in
convents,
Zeal for the education of their chil rn is on> of the honor-
able traits of the early settlers of Canada, many of whom
would never have crossed the ocean to New France, so they
assured Father Lejeune, if they had not been certain of
finding there, persons able to guide their consciences in the
care of their salvation, as well as to instruc: their offspring
EDUCATION IN THE CONVENT 213
in virtue and learning. In this respect, as Le Clere says,
“ Canada was more fortunate then new settlements in other
parts of the world,”
It is not, therefore, surprising, that our lists show the prom-
inent names of the country from one generation to another.
Those of lesser note come also intermingled, ~vhile the day-
school or eaternat provided for the religious instruction and
primary education of all classes, rich and poor, in the city.
Terms for board were always moderate, and our good
Mothers, accommodating, Money being rare in the colony,
payments were made in goods and provisions, sometimes in
wood for fuel, or in materials for building; and not unfre-
quently from the alms-box of the monastery, or from the
sums occasionally donated by the French government.
The best families were often not less in need of concessions
and “ favors” than the poorer class ; for, if the latter having
to labor for their subsistence, were dependant on “ wind and
weather,” a fine season or a good harvest, the former had to
reckon with the casualties of the ocean, the accidents of
war, and the certainties of an inadequate salary.
As to the number of pupils frequenting the day-school, or
residing in the convent as boarders, our Mothers seem to
have left to the good angels who assembled them, the care of
counting and comparing one year with another. Lists are
often incomplete; moreover, that season of renovation and
reckoning, the vacation, being unknown, there were pupils
entering or leaving throughout the year, without any obliga-
tion or motive for presenting a total, for any given period.
If the annals state that there were, in such a year,
“ sixteen little communicants,” or “twenty ” on another
occasion, it is not in order to enumerate, but to record a
mark of the kindness of their chief Pastor, who, “ addresses
the dear children a moving exhortation, and gives them
214 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
communion, as well as the nuns, from his own hand.” Or
the good bishop is present on a Passion-Sunday, and wit-
nesses a little entertainment in honor of the mystery, at
which “ he manifests his entire satisfaction.” When, at the
beginning of the century, there is a terrible epidemy, and
thirty-seven of the boarders are ill at one time, the annalist
records the fact; but she does not tell us how manv escaped
the malady, only that the classes were suspended for want of
teachers.
We see that from year to year, there is a gradual increase ;
new classes are formed, new class-rooms provided. The
chapter on “ T) Monastery enlarged ” (1717), has shown
us the whole building adjoining the parlors, occupied by the
boarders, A class of little Indian girls continued till about
the year 1725; the day-school was, at all times formerly, far
more numerous than that of the boarders,
Some of the pupils entered the convent very young, and
remained seven or eight years. Generally, they came at the
age of ten or eleven, to be prepared for their first communion,
remaining from two to four or five years, The biographies
of the nuns have enabled us to form these estimates ; and to
observe, at the same time, that a young girl of fourteen or
fifteen was able to give proof of a maturity of judgment, and
a decision of character, which at the present day, we hardly
expect at eighteen, The phenomenon may not be easy to
explain, but it must be admitted.
Could we now follow in spirit, through the devious paths
of life, some of these former pupils ; could we consult family
records, as we have passed in review those of the cloister, it
would complete, in a satisfactory manner, our appreciation of
the value, and the effects of education in the eighteenth
century,
pe co
EDUCATION IN THE CONVENT 215
When so competent a judge as Father Charlevoix, tells
us, in 1720, “of a total absence of rusticity throughout
the country ;” that he found the colonists “ most respectable
for their probity, their candor and solid piety,” we naturally
attribute no small share of the merit to the good religious
instruction the mothers of these families had received, Who
knows not the influence of the mother on the rising gener-
ation? Who can doubt the truth of the aphorism of the old
Bretons, upon which the ancient settlers of Canada seem to
have acted: “It is better to instruct a little child than to
gather wealth for him.” We might fancy we hear one of
those good Christian mothers imparting to her offspring the
lessons of piety she had learned at the convent, in language
as simple and sweet, as in the following song of the blind
minstrel Hervé, the monastic bard of Armorica :
“ Approach, my little children; come and hear a new song
which I have composed expressly for you: take pains to
remember it entirely.
“ When you'awake in your bed, offer your heart to the
good God, make the sign of the Cross, and say with faith,
hope, and love,
“ Say : My God, I give thee my heart, my body and my
soul: make me to be a good man, or else to die before my
time.
“ When you see a raven fly, think that sin is as black and
wicked ; when you see a little white dove fly, think that
your soul, if pure, is as sweet and white.”
Oh! happy the child that has a good mother, Never will
her lessons of piety, her examples of virtue be totally effaced
from the mind !
Let us now take a specimen of the names that occur on
our lists, beginning by Miss Jeanne Le Ber, the admirable
216 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
recluse of Montreal, The piety of Jeanne, her tender iove
of God, and her desire to imitate the Child of Nazareth, in
simplicity, in silence, in labor and humility, were manifest,
even at the age of eleven and twelve, when she was an
inmate of the convent, in 1675, She found companions of
her fervor in such young ladies as the Misses Denis, des
Granges, St. Amand, Neveu, La Forge, Nolan, Marie and
Marguerite Le Gardeur, Marie Berthelot, Angélique de
Lauson, etc.
Taking up the list at another date, we meet with the name
of Miss Marie-Josephine Fezeret, followed by the three
Misses des Meloises, the two Misses Villedonné, Marguerite
Gravelle, ete.
Miss Fezeret affords us a noble example of energy and
filial piety. Returning to her home in Montreal at the age
of seventeen, she finds her family plunged in the deepest
affliction. Her three brothers had fallen in battle where they
had hoped tc win glory and fortune ; her aged parents, left
without means, were disheartened and overwhelmed with the
weight of their misfortunes, Miss Fezeret, far from adding
to the afflictions of her family by her own despondency,
exerts herself to find, if possible, a remedy for the indigence
that threatened them. She draws up a petition to present
to the Governor to obtain a grant of lands, “ with all sei-
gniorial rights,” pleading the losses her family had sustained
“ in the. King’s service,” and their present necessities, with
such ability that she 2ompletely gains her cause. The Mar-
quis de Vaudreuil assigns to the young claimant, in due
form, a remnant of ungranted lands to which he gives the
name of Bourg-Marie, under the title of fief and seigniory,
“ subject to fealty and homage to be rendered at the Castle
of St, Louis in Quebec.”
EDUCATION IN THE CONVENT 217
Miss Fezeret was destined to surround the declining years
of her aged pareats with joy and comforts, happy especially
in having nobly fulfilled a noble duty, Her subsequent
marriage with an officer of the navy, M. de Thiersant, seems
to have been equally blessed by Heaven, The name of
Madame Thiersant, found among the few who in ancient
times obtained the privilege of “ parlor-boarder,” proves
that she never forgot her convent-mothers, nor the cloister
where she had spent her younger years,
Returning to our lists, we write with pleasure the name of
Miss Aubert de la Chesnaye, one of the ancestors of the
de Gaspé family, whose descendants appear at all dates down
to the present day; the Misses de Chavigny, de la Gor-
gendiére, de Beaulieu, de la Tesserie; with the names
equally ancient of Le Moine, des Groseilliers, de la Garenne,
de Bécancourt, Migeon de Bransac, Bolduc, du Puy, Landron,
Picard, Joly, ete.
Among the companious of the young captive, Esther
Wheelwright, (1709) we may notice the daughter of the
Governor her protector, Miss Elizabeth de Vaudreuil, placed in
the convent at the same time; and, in their company, Misses
Anne Denis de St. Simon, Charlotte Le Gardeur, Couillard,
d’Ailleboust des Musseaux, du Mesnil, Duchesnay, Roy,
etc., etc.
In 1712, the Monastery was edified by the youthful
virtues of Miss Marguerite du Frost de la Jemmerais, better
known to our readers by the name of the Venerable Madame
d’Youville ; who after experiencing the bitter vicissitudes of
life, constituted herself the servant of the poor, the maimed,
and the sick, After having triumphed over misfortune by
the cheerful practice of the works of mercy,.and endowed
her country with that. noble in’ ‘ution which bears the
218 GLIMPSES OF TILE MONASTERY
time-honored name of S@urs Grises, or Sisters of Charity,
she now awaits, in company with our own Venerable Mother,
the honors of Beatification,
Contemporary with the heroic example of Miss de la
Jemmerais ', we find the admirable charity of the three
daughters of the Governor of Montreal, the Misses De
Ramesay. The six amiable sisters had passed through
our classes, to the mutual satisfaction of teachers and pupils,
The eldest, after a brief sojourn in her family, had returned
to Quebec, and entered the General Hospital, where she lived
nearly half a century, serving with angeli: piety the suffering
members of our Lord, for the sake of His love. The second,
Marie-Catherine, bade a cheerful adieu to the enjoyments
her position in society promised her, to become an Ursuline ;
Geneviéve, the third, had accepted an alliance in the world,
The three youngest remained in their family, leading a life
worthy of the cloister. Their chief delight was to succor the
indigent, to visit and comfort the sick; ever ready to
expose their health, or to endanger their life, if thereby they
might procure relief for the distressed, or minister to the cor-
poral or spiritual necessities of the dying.
One instance will suffice to show how they understood and
practised the precept of charity. ’
In 1735, the city of Montreal was visited by a violent and
fearful epidemy. The hospitals were soon filled with the
sick and the dying. Nine of the hospital-sisters had fallen
victims to the cruel malady, when by the interference of the
ecclesiastical and the civil authority, limits were set to the
1—Miss de la Jemmerais was daughter of a distinguished officer
who served under the Marquis de Denonville ; her mother was
Miss René de Varennes. Several of her relatives were Ursulines ;
her three aunts were the Mothers de Varennes de la Présentation,
du Muy de Ste. Héléne, Anne-Marie de Boucherville de St. Ignace.
Mother Boucher de Boucherville de St. Pierre was her grand-aunt.
EDUCATION IN THE CONVENT 219
devotedness of the worthy nuns, The remainder of the com-
munity was ordered to quit the cloister and the city, in
order to breathe the pure air in the country ; six only were
excepted, and these offered the sacrifice of their lives, in order
to vontinue serving the unfortunate sufferers in the hospital.
At this moment of terror and general consternation, the
Misses de Rainesay did not abandon their usual post by the
sick-bed, Knowing that the worst cases of the malady were
assembled in the hospital, they hastened to offer their services
to aid the nuns in their sublime act of charity, stipulating
the following conditions in their own favor, namely: to have
a place in, the hospital, should they be attacked by the
disease, and to be buried in the chapel of Our Lady of Good
Help—the cemetery of the nuns—in case of death.
We must add that by a reciprocal act of generosity their
offer was uot accepted; but who can doubt of the rewards
it obtained in the sight of Him before whom the will has
the same value as the deed ?
Let us take afew more names, sciecting from the list
published in the Histoire du Monastére, for the year 1722.
There is mention of a little pupil’s death, at the age of six
years, The innocent child had her last resting-place in the
cemetery reserved to the nuns, beneath the choir, She was
the youngest of the three Misses Begon, who were all in the
convent that year, the daughters of the Intendant M.
Begon, Captain and Knight of St. Louis, The list reads on
as follows: Misses Francoise de Lotbiniére, Cartier, Pugi-
bault, de Beaujeu, Thérése d’Ailleboust, Félicité du Chesnay,
Jeanne Pinguet-Vaucours, Lemieux, de la Chevrotiére, de
Léry, Baby, de Jonquiéres, Duguet, de Girardin, de la Croix,
de Hertel, Boucher, de Niverville, the Misses Bissot, St, Ours
Deschaillons, Bédard, Davis, Bonneau, St. Luc de la Corne,
has nea a
220 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
etc, Charlotte d’ Anticosti 1, whose ancestor Louis Joliet, with
Father Marquette, discovered the Mississipi river.
Let us mention, for the last time, the little forest girls, as
boarders, having their separate class under the title of “semi-
nary.” From time to time, even after our Mothers had ceased
to name them in their vow of instruction (1725), the mis-
sionaries would send some unprotected child to the convent,
as in earlier days, but these were no longer little pagans to
be instructed in the faith. The remnants of the Indian tribes
along the lower St. Lawrence, which war and sickness had
spared, had embraced Christianity ; while their incapacity to
adopt the civilization of European nations, had become «a
acknowledged fact. Henceforth, the devoted priests who con-
tinued to labor for the salvation of these natives of the
great forests of America, found among them evident traces
of a Christian mother’s influence; and had less difti-
culty in instructing them in all that is needful for the ser-
vice of God. We know that, as a judicious author 2 has
remarked, “they often exhibited, by their lives, a simplicity
and fervor of intelligent faith, which races, called superior,
would do well to emulate,”
How far the females among these tribes, who had formerly
been tanght in the convent, during a period of eighty years,
may have aided the missionary in his godlike task, is only
known to Him before whom all things stand revealed.
1—The reader who would see many curious details of genealogy,
is referred to the lists published in the different Volumes of the
Histoire du Monastere; the extracts printed here are taken from
Vol, 2.
2—Rev. X. D. MacLeod: Devotion to the Blessed Virgin in Ame-
rica, p. 166.
Ogys
the
rom
me-
ANCIENT SUPERIORS OF THE COMMUNITY 221
CHAPTER XIII
1639 - 1739
ANCIENT SUPERIORS OF THE COMMUNITY
MARY, PERPETUAL SUPERIOR OF THE URSULINES
A picture-gallery, hung with the portraits of our former
‘Superiors, would not be, for the cloistered family, the least
interesting part of the Monastery.
Placed in their order, after that of the Venerable first
Superior, Mother Mary of the Incarnation, they would
now amount to twenty -seven, ten of them belonging to
the first centennial period, from 1639 to 1739.
Our readers are already familiar with the names of several
of those Mothers, who had been called by divine Provi-
dence “ to bear the heat and burden of the day,” at the post
of ‘chief responsibility, while their Sisters enjoyed the
enviable privilege, the merit and security of obedience, It
may be said that the Superior, also, governing with humility
and condescension, performs an act of meritorious obedience
to the rule which so ordains, yet far happier is the private
religious, who, without solicitude or paxiety, makes a safe
and peaceful voyage, leaving to the watchful and care-worn
pilot the charge of guiding the vessel.
The following list will serve as an introduction for the
firsi ten Superiors of the Monastery of Quebec.
1. Ven. Mother Marie ,Guyart de l'Incarnation; Superior from
1639 to 1645; 1651 to 1657; 1663 to 1669.
2. Mother Marguerite de Flécelles de St. Athanase ; from 1615
to 1651 ; 1657 to 1663; 1669 to 1676,
-8. Mother Marie Gibault du Breuil de St. Joseph; fron 1676 to
1682; 1688 to 1694.
eee
beta
222 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
}
|
4, Mother Marie Drouet de Jésus ; from 1682 to 1688; (also Supe-
rior at Three Rivers).
h 5. Mother Marie Le Maire des Anges; from 1694 to 1700; 1712
to 1717 (also Superior at Three Rivers).
{ (The following were professed in the Convent of Quebec) :
| 6. Mother Marie-Anne Bourdon de Ste. Agnés; from 1700 to 1703.
} 7. Mother Angélique Poisson de St. Jean l’Evangéliste; from
1703 to 1706; 1717 to 1723 ; 1726 to 1732.
| 8. Mother Catherine Pinguet de l’Incarnation ; from 1706 to 1712.
9. Mother Marie Amiot de la Conception ; from 1732 to 1725.
an 10. Mother Marie Anceau de Ste. Thérése ; from 1723 to 1736; (also
f { 19 years at Three Rivers).
The 11th Superior elected in 1735, was Mother Migeon de la
Nativité.
Venerable Mother Mery of the Incarnation (1672) and
Mother St, Athanasius (1695), the first to pay the debt of
nature, among these ancient Superiors, was Mother Marie
Drouet of Jesus, (1709).
| She was no longer an inmate of the convent of Quebec,
but at the head of the Ursulines of Three Rivers, a post she
| had occupied to the entire satisfaction of that little commu-
| nity for the space of nine years,
| During the second term of her superiority at Quebec, the
| burning of the convent, (1686), and the subsequent hardships
|
|
|
|
{
| Mother Drouet of Jesus.—After the decease of our
|
attendant on the accident, gave her such trials as, happily,
but few are called to bear; but her energy, her piety and
submission to Divine Providence, rendered her equal to the
emergency. Her tender devotion to the mystery of the
Infancy of Our Lord, was perhaps the secret of the piety,
i meekness and charity which characterized her as a Superior,
and which made of her a perfect religious, She has left us «
| perpetual legacy of that devotion, in the commemoration of
the Saviour’s birth, renewed on the 25th of each month, by
singing a hymn and an anthem, before the altar dedicated to
> ll
oe, *
i
|
\@
|.
ANCIENT SUPERIORS OF THE COMMUNITY 223
the Infant Jesus. Mother Mary of Jesus, at her death, had
attained the age of seventy-five years, of which fifty-seven
had been spent in the cloister.
Two years later (1711), there was mourning for another
ex-Superior, our beloved Mother Anne Bourdon of St, Agnes,
one of the early pupils of our Venerable Mother Mary of the
Incarnation, In the obituary notice of this goud Mother,
we perceive a strain of tenderness, unusual even on those
pages which ever breathe of charity. “ We have lost our
dear and well-beloved Mother St. Agnes,” says the writer,
“ This good Mother is deeply regretted by all her Sisters, to
whom she had greatly endeared herself in every way. The
many virtues which adorned her life, the many amiable
exterior qualities which distinguished her rendered her -a
real treasure for our community...... The close of a peaceful
and meritorious life was in the embrace of the Lord, sweet
and holy, leaving us all filled with the desire of imitating
the examples she has left us.”
Mother St. Agnes is entitled to the lasting gratitude of
avr Monastery, particularly for her labors as annalist. To
her faithful pen we owe the summary or narrative of the
first forty-eight years of the history of the Convent, replacing
the regular annals, which had perished in 1686. Once
charged with the care of consigning to paper the details of
passing events, her discrimination is as remarkable as her
style. Her historical narrations, neither too brief, nor yet
redundant, are full of vigor and animation.
One of the last articles that fell from her pen, still firm at
the age of seventy, although not so active as when she com-
menced some thirty years previous, is the account of the
expedition of the American colonists against Canada, in 1711,
the result of which was still impending at her decease,
924 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
It closes with these words so expressive, and so characte-
ristic of the lively faith of the writer: ‘“ Our enemies trust
in their multitude and in their strength ; but for us, O Lord,
our sole hope is in Thy protection.”
At the decease of Mother Gibault du Breuil of St. Joseph,
(1715) the new annalist declares she can find no expressions
“to give an adequate idea of the merit, the rare qualities
the many virtues of this dear and venerable Mother.” She
had spent forty-four years in Canada, contributing zealously
to the solid establishment of this convent, to which she had
given’ her services in 1671.
The last year of her life she was enabled to contribute to
its welfare in a manner most crucifying to nature, It was
no longer her part to guide others, but she needed the helping
hand of kind sisters even to pass from one apartment to
another. Blind and helpless, she found in the charity of
compassionate hearts and in her own complete resignation to
the will of Providence, the only alleviation her sufferings
admitted. Borne several years with admirable meekness and
patience, these infirmities were the crucible wherein the
virtues which Mother St. Joseph had long practised, became
as the fine gold purified by fire. She expired, surrounded by
the consolations of religion, aged sixty-two.
There was still left one survivor of our beloved French
Mothers. Her recent re-election to the office of Superior at
the advanced age of seventy-five proved in what estimation
the community held Mother Marie Le Maire of the Anyels.
We have mentioned already her solicitude for the estab-
lishment of the Ursulines at Three Rivers, where she held
the office of Superior six years, She had discharged the same
duties here, during seventeen years, wher. arrived the peace-
ANCIENT SUPERIORS OF THE COMMUNITY 225
ul close of her useful life, in 1717. Four times during the
autumn of that year, did the beautiful ceremony of a recep-
‘tion rejoice the heart of the aged Superior, who congratulated
herself, with reason, on witnessing such a conquest of grace
as the vocation of Miss de Ramesay and her companions.
All around the convent, during that fall, workmen had
been busy laying vast foundations for a church ; too vast,
unfortunately, so that much of the labor had to be abandoned,
and recommenced on another plan. Mother Mary of the
Angels continued to acquit herself of her duties as Superior, in
addition to the cares and difficulties that attended the work of
building, But winter had now set in, and a few days given toa
retreat would be rest for body and mind: or, was it a pre-
sentiment of her approaching dissolution that caused the
venerable Mother to withdraw from her usual occupations,
to attend to the grave question of her own progress in per-
fection ? Certainly, no one else foresaw that the Angel of
death was hovering near, prepared to strike a blow that
would plunge the whole cloistered family in grief. The exer-
cises, cemmenced with such fervor, were speedily interrupted.
The beloved Superior, seriously ill, became at once the
object of the most tender and anxious care. The skill of the
best physicians was called in requisition, while the sympathy
manifested by the Bishop and clergy, as well as by many of
the citizens and their families, showed how they all appre-
ciated the worth of the pious nun, The sentiments of
the community, when, after a few days of suffering. a life of
piety. and zeal was crowned by a happy death, are summed
up in the concluding line of her notice, in the annals: “God
alone can console us for such a loss,”
The honorable and much esteemed relatives of Mother
Le Maire of the Angels are ranked among the benefactors
15
226 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
of the Monastery. Their liberality was experienced on
many occasions, particularly after the disaster of 1686,
Among other acts of beneticence, the Ursulines of the present
day must be particularly sensible to their delicate attention,
in procuring for the community the portraits of our Vener-
able Mother Marie de l’Incarnation and Madame de la
Peiltrie, after the loss of the original paintings in the second
conflagration of the Monastery.
How often have we had occasion to remark that when the
Divine Master removes a person eminently useful, he has
another in reserve to supply her place in the community,
that the work,—His work—may suffer no interruption.
Thus it proved when Mother Angelique Poisson of St.
John was selected, to replace the lamented Mother Mary of
the Angels (1717).
This seventh Superior whose long services in the commu-
nity have merited a special return of love and gratitude, was
also the seventh professed choir-sister in the Convent of
Quebec.
From the seigniorial manor of Gentilly, opposite Three
Rivers, the youthful Angélique had passed to our classes,
and to the maternal care of our Venerable Mother Marie de
Incarnation, at the age of eleven, in 1662. The epoch of
her first Communion, impressed her heart remarkably
through the sweet influences of piety; and the love of God
ever afterwards continued to be the ruling principle of her
actions. In her studies, her success was assured by her
natural talents, a good memory, taste and judgment, “She
was fond of reading, expressed herself with facility in con-
versation, and still more gracefully in writing.”
Our nineteenth century prudence may take alarm when
we hear of her exchanging, at the age of fomteen years
ANCIENT SUPERIORS OF THE COMMUNITY 227
and a half, the title of pupil for that of candidate for the
religious life: albeit, after considering her long caeer,
usefully employed in the instruction of youth, and in the
government of the Monastery, we must submit to the opinion
of those who were judges on the occasion, and regard her as
“a person of rare and precocious intelligence.”
Called by the vote of the community to fill the place left
vacant by the decease of the regretted Mother Mary of the
Angels, we have seen her at the age of sixty-six, take the
lead in aiding with her own hands in the building of the
church,
She had retained the vigor of the prime of life to the
advanced age of eighty-one, and was again at the post of
duty, by the voice of election, when a sudden failure of her
usual good health obliged her to desist from her ordinary
occupations, Reposing at the infirmary for a few days, she
thought to turn time to good account by making a review of
her past life, and sent for her confessor to consult upon the
matter with him, and receive the sacrament of penance. His
mission was just over; the conventual door had not closed
behind him, when he was recalled in all haste to administer
the sacrament of the dying. The dear Mother, in the unutter-
able peace of a soul just purified by absolution, had time to
receive extreme unction, when her spirit, as angelic as her
name, passed to the bosom of the God she had so faithfully
served, Mother Angélique of St. John had celebrated the
sixty-second anniversary of her religious profession, when
her death occurred, in 1732,
In their grief for so sudden a loss, our Mothers hesitated
to proceed, immediately, to the election of another Superior.
The Bishop provided for a delay by appointing to that office,
of his own authority, Mother Mr ie Anceau of St. Teresa.
928 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
The worthy Mother thus placed at the head of our com-
munity, had but lately returned from Three Rivers, in hopes
of resting from the charge which she had long exercised
there.
The early life of “fother St. Teresa was, in many points,
but the counterpart of that of her predecessor, Mother St.
John. Sent to our classes as boarder at a tender age, while
our Venerable Mother was Superior, she pursued her studies
during nine years, without regretting the parental mansion
at Three Rivers, or sighing for the delights which the
unknown future is wont to promise the youthful imagina-
tion, Without returning to the world, which she may be
said to have known only by report, she joined that little
band of novices who, in 1672, lost an incomparable mother-
mistress, but who never forgot her nor her instructions,
Mother St. Teresa’s whole life breathed of innocence, sim-
plicity, and goodness of heart. Skilful with her needle as
with her pen; patient, devoted, pious, and laborious, she
was eminently qualified for the instruction of youth, and
was almost exclusively employed in teaching, until her
services, as Superior, were required at Three Rivers. There,
she guided that community in a most satisfactory manner,
during nineteen years.
A few months after her release from that office, which had
been imposed upon her anew in our Monastery, as we have
seen, she passed peacefully to her eternal repose (1735), at
the age of seventy-eight, greatly regretted as she had been
much beloved,
Two ex-Superiors were still living in 1739, when occurred
the hundredth anniversary: Mothers Marie Pinguet of the
Incarnation, and Marie Amiot of the Conception. The latter
had yet to.see the year 1747, and attain the age of eighty-
MARY, OUR PERPETUAL SUPERIOR 229
five, completing seventy years of religious life, Their names
will occur later.
For the present, let us suspend the review of our “ gallery
of portraits,” beneath each of which we have inscribed R, I. P. ;
for the Ursulines have a Superior who is not subject to
change nor death,
OOR PERPETUAL SUPERIOR
THE IMMACULATE VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF GOD
In every religious order, there is a special devotion to the
Blessed Virgin, It is with her example in view that, in all
Christian ages, so many young maidens have separated them-
selves from the pretende:! glories and pleasures of the world,
seeking in vigils, fastings, and humble charity, to render
themselves worthy of being numbered iu her train.
For the Ursulines, it is a peculiar consolation and privilege
to remember that they are bound by an article of their Con-
stitutions, “to cultivate a tender devotion to the Mother of
God ;” and the motive of the precept is, at the same time, an
encouragement, It is ‘“ that by her intercession, and espe-
cial protection, they may labor more fruitfully to form Jesus-
Christ in the hearts of young girls, instilling into their souls
her excellent virtues, according to their institute.”
Another article of the same code makes the following pro-
visions :
“ In every convent, the Blessed Virgin shall be especially
chosen for first and chief Superior, which election shall be
made in the following manner :
“On the day appointed by the proper authority, all the
religious of the community being assembled in a chapel,
wherein has been placed a statue of Our Lady, holding in
her sacred arms the Infant Jesus, they shall invoke the
————
—— a=
230 GLIMPSES OF THF MONASTERY
Holy Ghost by singing the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus,
Then some prayer to the Mother of God shall be read, after
which the Mother Superior shall place the keys of the con-
vent at the foot of the statue; and, aYl kneeling, she shall
offer her charge, and the convent, to Our Lady by some
devout form of consecration,”
This solemn act of homage and fealty, the Superior pro-
nounces in these words :
“ Most holy and most worthy Mother of God, Queen of
heaven and earth, Temple of the most august Trinity, Refuge
of sinners and of all who have placed their confidence in thy
protection; behold us humbly prostrate at thy feet, while
we promise in presence of the Blessed Trinity and of all the
heavenly Court, to take and hold thee as our special Mother,
Queen, and Protectress, beseeching thee from the depths of
our hearts, to adopt and protect in a particular manner this
community as thy possession. We choose and acknowledge
thee for our first and chief Superior, desiring to depend upon
thee in the most absolute manner, And I, Sister N. N.,
most unworthy Superior, do resign this charge into thy hands,
reserving to myself no right to exercise it but in submission
to thee; placing myself and all this house under thy direc-
tion and conduct; rendering thee the homage, honor and
obedience due to thee from us, in the quality of most loyal
subjects and most humbly devoted children.” Next is
sung the Vos cum prole pia, &c., “ do Thou with thy Divine
Son, O Virgin most benignant, give us thy blessing!” All
incline to receive it, and immediately entoning the 7’e Dewm
laudamus, the Mother Superior advances to render homage,
by kneeling to kiss the feet of the statue of the Blessed
Virgin, Allthe community follow, in turn, passing in proces-
sion, while the grand old hymn is sung to the end, This
act. which recalls so vividly the “ fealty and homage” of
} “y “é < Avs, TFy ak,
Sap ka aee ae are Se, Ge te ir: PR pt ae
MARY, OUR PERPETUAL SUPERIOR 231
feudal times, was performed for the first time in the “ Great
Convent” of Paris, in 1638,
Here, it dates from the year 1650, having been made,
known to our Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation by
the two Parisian nuns, Mothers St. Athanasius and St,
Clare.
One who has assisted at the touching ceremony, taking
part in it as personally interested, needs not the aid of fancy,
to feel herself deeply moved by the simple pathos of the
language, the piety of the scene, and the earnest tone of the
Superior’s voice pronouncing the form of consecration, She
need not picture to herself that first act of homage, just
before the conflagration of the monastery, when the voice of
the foundress entoned that hymn of thanksgiving for favors
and trials, past and future, both being equally the gift of
Heaven. Nor need she recall to mind that the same pious
sanctuary where she kneels, lias witnessed for the past
century and a half, the triennial recurrence of the same
solemn homage to the Mother of God, All the former Supe-
riors, from the time of the gentle Mother St. John who saw
the chapel first finished, down to the present day, have here
successively offered themselves and the community, to con-
stitute the rightful inheritance and possession of the Queen
of Heaven.
On these occasions, Our Lady of Great Power descends
from her loftier pedestal, as.if to render herself more accessi-
ble to her most loyal and cherished subjects, Her throne is
all aglow with lights and decorations, More than by the
splendor, we may be attracted by the titles of Our Blessed
Lady, written in large gilded characters upon the base
of the four pilasters beside the altar:
MariA, REGINA VirGinuM, DiriGE Nos! Maria MATER
URSULINARUM, PRoTEGE Nos! Yes! O Queen of Virgins, O
232 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Mother of Ursulines! direct us, protect us, thy children, thy
subjects, Succor and defend us, O Mother of Mercy, O Queen
of Martyrs! Maria, MATER MISERICORDIA, SUCCURRE NOBIS,
Maria, ReGinA MARTYRUM, DEFENDE NOs,
CHAPTER XIV
1639
THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY
For the splendor of public worship, the decoration of altars,
and the celebration of religious festivals, the present genera-
tion must yield the palm to the past. Reading of these things
in the early times in Canada, is like obtaining a glimpse of
the middle ages,
The hundredth anniversary of the arrival of the Ursulines
on this continent of America, was not one of the least of
those occasions, when the population of Quebec, uniting in
one sentiment, seem, like the first Christians, to have but
one heart and one soul, The renovating fervor of the com-
munity at that period reminds us of the cenacle, where the
disciples of the Lord prayed with such ardor that the Holy
Ghost descended visibly upon them, filling them with new
zeal for accomplishing the divine mission with which they
were entrusted,
A whole year was not too long to prepare for the great day.
But let the annalist herself, tell us how these things were
done.
“ To dispose ourselves for the celebration of our hundredth
anniversary, and in order that it might be for our commu-
THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 2338
nity a motive for a more perfect renovation, returning thanks
to God for the innumerable benefits bestowed upon the
Monastery during the past century, we began our prepara-
tions a year beforehand, On the 1st of August, 1738, being
assembled in the chapel to listen to an exhortation on the sub-
ject, one of our good Fathers addressed us in a manner well
calculated to inspire 1s with the fervor that animated our
ancient Mothers, as well as with their zeal for the instruc-
tion of youth, and the conversion of the poor people of these
countries, in laboring for whom they consumed their lives,
“ Penetrated with the liveliest gratitude towards God, we
determined to testify it by giving more time than usual to
prayer: for this purpose we prolonged nearly all our ordi-
nary pious exercises,
“ On Fridays, three were appointed in turn to observe
silence, refraining from the usual recreations, and adding
several acts of mortification and of other virtues,
“ All our young Sisters desired to renew the exercises
preparatory to profession, performing them with fervor, in
order to draw down upon this house a continuation of the
divine favor, Finally, on the approach of the great solemnity,
the 1st of August, 1739, the anniversary of that day on
which our worthy foundresses, Madame de la Peltrie, Vener-
able Mother Marie Guyart de |’Incarnation, Mother Marie
de Savonniéres de St. Joseph, and Mother Cécile Richer de
Ste. Croix, arrived in Quebec, all the community entered
upon a retreat,
“ The renovation of our vows had been vostponed until
this day, instead of taking place according to custom, on the
Monday after Pentecost.
“ All then was in readiness for the commemorative ser-
vices, when the sudden decease of an aged and beloved
234 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Mother obliged us to defer the rejoicings to the octave, The
festivity of our centennial anniversary had been announced
to the people, with an Indulgence accorded by Our Holy
Father, Innocent X., not only for ourselves, but for the
people who desired tu participate in the celebration. On the
day preceding, at noon, the chimes of the cathedra]-bells
mingled with ours, to announce the festival ; and this was
renewed during the three days with the same solemnity.
The triduum was opened by the canons of the cathedral,
who did us the honor of coming to celebrate High Mass,
Vespers, and Benediction of the Blassed Sacrament, closing
the exercises by singing the Z’e Deum.
‘“‘ The second festival was solemnized by the clergy from
the seminary, attended by their students and ecclesiastics, in
a similar manner, The third and last day belonged to the
Franciscans,
“ All the Fathers came in procession, singing the Te
Deum, and after celebrating mass, returned in the same order
to the chimes of the cathedral-bells and ours. The good
Fathers of the Society of Jesus preached on each of the
three days.
“Of the alms that were distributed we need not take
note, The clergy, as well as the religious communities, were
entertained at our expense and to the best of our p. =. The
coucourse in our church was great during the three days, the
people being attracted by the exposition of the Blessed Sacra-
ment, which commenced at four »’clock in the morning and
ended only «t five in the afternoon.
“ Tho church, where every thing was fresh and new, was
richly decorated without the loan of ornameats, and all was
pronounced to be in gooc taste, The walls, newly finished,
were hung with paintings. In the large grating, six elegant
silvered candelabra, each bearing fourteen tapers, were sus-
ws
THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 235
pended, producing a fine effect. A large chandelier hung in
front of the chapel of the Sacred Heart, and another, bearing
also twenty-two tapers, adorned the nave.
During the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, four
hundred tapers were lighted, comprising those of the altar in
the choir, which was also brilliantly decorated.
“ Between the three statues that ornament the portal of
the church, hung the portraits of our worthy foundresses,
Madame de la Peltrie, Venerable Mother Marie de 1’Incar-
nation, and Mother St. Joseph.
“ Beneath the portraits were inscriptions in poetry, men-
tioning some of their heroic 2ctions. An address to the
people was not forgotten, all being placed ata convenient
height to be easily read. The frames of the portraiw, as well
as the inscriptions, were black, with gilded ornamer.’:,
Before the church-door, young fir-trees, planted in several
rows, presented a pretty sight and afforded an agreeable
shade. During these three days, there were constantly priests
at the two altars, celebrating the Holy Sacrifice, from four
o'clock in the morning till noon. Could we do too much to
inank the Almighty for the blessings showered down in such
profusion on this house since its first establishment ?
“ The same motive induced us to sacrifice a part of the
silver plate, belonging to the infirmary, in order to make a
sanctuary lamp, with which the church had not yet been
furnished,
“ The solemnity ended by a High Mass, celebrated at the
demand of the Indians, who attended it and saug tlie Kyrie,
the Credo, etc. After mass they delivered harangues, in their
usual flo.vcry style, addressed to the nuns in the parlor. In
return, the nuns offered them a good substantial banquet, to
which they did ample honor.
So a a nae ne a a a
eee
236 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
“ Not wishing to have our dear deceased Mothers excluded
from this festival, we had fifteen masses celebrated for their
repose, as well as to thank God for His great mercies upon
our community, and to beg a continuation thereof.
Nothing was wanting, therefore, to render this celebration
a “ success,” except the presence of the chief Pastur of the
diocese, Bishop Dosquet, who was absent in France, where
he had gone to resign the charge he had held since 1733.
One of the inscriptions read as follows :
Behold the Christian heroines advance,
Affronting peril with intrepid glance :
All fearless, braving Ocean’s angry wave,
Immortal souls from endless death to save.
And, now One Hundred years have passed away,
Since first these countries hailed the happy day,
When landing, they embrace the cherished soil,
Which they will render fertile by their toil.
They lived angelic lives ; they loved the cross ;
They counted every earthly gain as dross
They taught the redman, and his child, the road
That leads to that bright world, now their abode.
And every Christian maid, or mother, here,
Blesses the day when Ursulines appear,
To train the youthful mind; to guard from ill,
And teach them life’s high destiny to fill.
All honor, then to those who led the way !
For if beneath the Convent-roof to-day,
So many souls are laboring for Heaven,
All glory to the Foundresses be given !
Grant, thou, O Lord, that blessings may increase
From age to age, around this house of peace !
And let it flourish, like a goodly vine,
For ’tis Thine own! let all its fruit be Thine !
DEPARTURES DURING THE CENTENNIAL YEAR 237
Another inscription takes the form of an epigram; and
both are evidently written by pens beyond the enclosure
of the monastery :
One hundred years this house has stood,
Yet all within is firm and good.
Without reform the charter stands ;
Thus let it pass to younger hands :
For where no rotten wood is found,
1t kills the tree to bark it round.
CHAPTER XV
1739
DEPARTURES DURING THE CENTENNIAL YEAR, COINCIDENCE
OF NAMES
At the dawn of the centennial year of 1739, the commu-
nity was composed of fifty-three professed nuns; _ fifty-three
others, during that period of a hundred years, had passed to
a better Jife. Thus the family above, was already as large as
that which was preparing the festive celebration here below ;
and doubtless there were rejoicings also in that better world,
A fresh accession to their number in the course of the
year, a deputation, one would say, from the community on
earth to that in heaven, presents a curious coincidence of
names, at such an epoch.
Our readers all remember those three first nuns whose
arrival illustrates the date, 1639: Mothers Mary of the
Incarnation, Ste. Croix and St. Joseph, The departure of
three others of nearly the same name, marks the obituary
list, in 1739, The first was Mother Marie de Repentigny
238 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
of St. Agatha, who although she bore not the same name as
Mother Marie de la Troche of St. Joseph, had lived about
the same number of years in religion. The second death
that occurred interrupted the centennial celebration. It was
Mother Marie-Catherine Pinyuet of the Incernation; the
third was Mother Marie-Elizabeth d’Ailleboust de Ste. Croia,
Madame de la Peltrie had also her representative in one
of the boarders, Miss des Meloises, who died in the Convent,
at the age of twelve years, and by a rare privilege, was buried
in the cemetery of the nuns.
A few pages must here be dedicated to the memory of
the three venerable Mothers, whom we might call the wit-
nesses of what the preceding pages have described :
Who then, was this aged Mother Marie-Catherine of the
Incarnation, who after a year’s preparation to celebrate the
great anniversary, contenting herself with the renovation of
hor vows with her community and sharing the spiritual rejoi-
cings of the 1st August, 1739, hastens to join the choirs
above, before the public festival takes place ?
The faithful pen of olden times tells us that’ just near
Quebec, on the Island of Orleans, a bright and happy home
awaited Marie-Catherine as she left the Convent, in 1675, at
the age of fourteen: but its attractions were not so strong
nor so sweet as were those of an interior voice, calling her to
a life of separation from the world and all its pleasing, but
fallacious prospects. Her generous-hearted Christian parents
had already, some ten years previous, consented to be deprived
of the company of their eldest daughter, Marie Madeleine,
who had consecrated herself to God among our Ursulines,
Could they now resist the pleadings of Marie Catherine ?
They might have objected that her health was delicate and
DEPARTURES DURING THE CENTENNIAL YEAR 239
her frame of the most fragile mould ; but the fervor of the
youthful aspirant anxious only to obey Him, who is the
Master of our destiny, overcame all obstacles.
The novitiate was opened to her, and doubtless she might
have written to her parents in such words as the following :
“No langnage can describe the peace and happiness of mind
I enjoy. Fear not for me ; I shall contiuue to be happy, for
I have given myself without reserve to God and His holy
Church.” The months of probation passed quickly by, and
the approach of a great day filled the fervent novice with
new joy.
We have witnessed in spirit on the 30th April, 1677, the
ever touching ceremony of taking the veil, when, with the
livery of the spouse of Christ, she received the venerated and
beloved name of Marie de |’Incarnation.
The future career marked out for that delicate young
novice was a sealed book before her, as it is for us all. Her
only care was to accomplish from day tu day, with cheerful
heart, the rule she had em braced, which is an epitome of the
Gospel counsels of perfection, conforming her will to that of
Divine Providence, in the various trials and even hardships
which awaited her on more than one occasion, in common
with the rest of the community.
After many years devoted to the care and instruction of
the pupils in the boarding-school, she was called to hold,
during six years, the office of Superior, and, at various times,
that of assistant, zelatrix, or mistress of novices. The novitiate
must have derived great benefit from the direction of a per-
son endowed with such prudence, meekness and piety; and
we observe that she was re-appointed to that important office,
even at an advanced age in the last years of her life. These
are the principal services our second Mother of the Incarnation
240 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
was enabled to render her community. Were they not suffi-
cient to justify her in the choice of her vocation? and also
to justify Divine Providence in calling her to abandon the
paternal mansion, where she had indeed a pleasant home,
but subject like all others on the face of the wide world,
to change, to sorrow, and to the gradual dissolving of its
tenderest ties by death ?
At length, the summons to quit her adopted family of the
cloister came ; but she was not to know the grief of a part-
ing scene, nor the dread of that last hour, so terrible even
to the just. A slight indisposition, so it seemed, a sudden
prostration of her strength, which had caused her to lose
consciousness for a few moments, during the night of the 1st
of August, retained the venerable religious in the infirmary
all the next day, but without any definite pain, fever, or
other alarming symptom. It was a Sunday, the 2nd of
August, The celebration of the centennial jubilee by the
public was to take place on Monday. In the mean time, as
evening came on, there wasa sudden alarm within the Monas-
tery. Their venerated Mother of the Incarnation had sunk,
as in a swoon, into her arm-chair to which she had walked
from her bed. She seemed to be dying, yet the physician,
who had been sent for in the course of the day, had found
her in no danger.
In a few moments she had passed away, all gently, as the
ripened leaf in autumn drops from its stem and falls silently
to the ground.
It was a death unlooked-for, but not unprepared: and
although it changed the accents of thanksgiving to those of
mourning, yet each one felt that it was the Angel of mercy
that had snapped the silver thread of life, just as it was
brightest in the sight of Heaven!
DEPARTURES DURING THE CENTENNIAL YEAR 241
On the 4th of Septemver, the annalist writes again with
tears :
“The Almighty who has decreed that perfect happiness
shall never be ours in this life, has permitted the rejoicings
of our hundredth anniversary to be followed by redoubled
afflictions, in the sudden death of another of our venerable
ancient mothers, But yesterday our beloved Mother Marie-
Elizabeth d’Ailleboust of Ste. Croix, was apparently in
perfect health, She had served at table in the refectory all
the week ; she assisted at the recreation, and at the divine
office with us last evening. This morning, at four o’clock,
the sister who awakens the community, entering her cell,
found her at the point of death, speechless and apparently
unconscious, The physician was sent for in all haste, as
well as our confessor. They found her dying. She had
merely time to receive a last absolution, and extreme unction,
when she gently breathed her last. It is impossible to say
what had caused her death, the physician finding no sign
of apoplexy nor any other known malady.”
Our readers have recognized in the family name of our
beloved Mother Ste. Croix, that of the third Governor of the
colony: she was his grand-niece, Her father was Charles
d’Ailleboust, seigneur des Musseaux, and her mother,
Catherine Le Gardeur de Repentigny. They have also
called to mind that they assisted, in spirit, at the ceremony
of her reception in 1689, ir the temporary chapel beneath
the present community-hyll.
Her contemporaries te!] 113-how she bore for fifty years,
with happiness, the sweet yoko of tlie Lord, serving Him in
a spirit of love, and with so lively a faith in His presence
that her whole exterior hore its impress. The remembrance
of the sacred mysteries of tle Passion of Our Saviour pos-
16
=
eS SS
’
242 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
sessed her soul to such a degree that she had learned to
disregard her own sufferings, while His cross had given her
the secret of voluntary humiliations, Providence favored
her pious inclinations, by appointing her often to those duties
which had to be performed chiefly in the presence of the
Blessed Sacrament of the Altar: namely those of sacristine
(vestry-nun) and of mistress of ceremonies at the divine oftice,
where her magnificent voice found its mission, leading the
choir, and chanting the praises of God, “ To this true daughter
of the Church the least of its ceremonies was sacred ; and to
see her take holy water or make the sign of the cross,
was enough to convince the beholder that she was pene-
trated with a lively faith.” Was it not a reward of her devo-
tion to the Sacred Heart to be called to appear before the
divine tribunal on that first Friday of the month ?—the day
on which she had sung for so many years that touching
hymn: O Cor amoris Victima, “ O Heart of Jesus, Victim
of love! be thou my protection in all the tribulations and
sorrows of life! above all, at the hour of my death, say thou
to my soul: Behold! I am thy salvation !”
The name of Mother Amiot of the Conception carries us
far back into the preceding century, She entered the con-
vent (1677) only tive years after the decease of our Vene-
rable Mother Mary of the Incarnation; and when her own
death occurred in 1747, she had seen seventy summers
within the cloister. She had lived twenty-four years with
Mother St. Ignatius (Miss Charlotte Barré), eighteen with
that first Parisian superior, Mother St. Athanasius and forty
with Mother Le Maire des Anges.
She is named among the foundresses of the Ursulines of
Three Rivers; and during her long career of usefulness here
DEPARTURES DURING THE CENTENNIAL YEAR 243
in Quebec, she was called, at various times, to fill the most
laborious as well as the highest offices,
Let us, dear reader, rest a few moments in the company
of this venerated Mother Amiot of the Conception, who has
spent the greater part of her days in the shadow of the sanc-
tuary, and see what her example will teach us.
Our annals picture her in the freshness of “ sweet thirteen,”
an only child, led by her fond mother into the midst of those
brilliant circles of pleasure which constituted the fashionable
world of Quebec at that time ; yet despising the vain show
and rejecting the allurements of society as an unworthy
slavery, while as yet her inexperience could not have fath-
omed the emptiness, nor suspected the dangers of the cup.
that was presented her.
Perinitted, at her earnest request, to re-enter the ccnvent
as boarder, her instinctive disgust for the world served as a
preparation for the grace of a special attraction for the things
of God; and before the completion of her fifteenth year, she
had obtained for her portion the liberty of the servants of
Jesus-Christ, the privilege of adopting His Cross as her only
inheritance,
From the day she was clothed with the livery of the spouse:
of Christ to that later period when she wore lightly the
burthen of her fourscore years, she shed around her the
sweet odor of edification, the bright and shining example of
every virtue,
Need we follow her from year to year through the various.
labors assigned her in the house of God? Here all offices are
of the same value, when their duties are fulfilled with equal
perfection. Her talents fitted her for all, and her piety ren-
dered all sweet and profitable to herself and to the commu--
nity.
244 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Now we behold her as the special advocate of the devotion
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, winning souls to love Him by
words of burning zeal, while she writes out the tickets of
the Association, and inscribes the long register of names from
the time it is opened (1700) to her dying day, Now, with
alacrity she busies herself in adorning the altar, dedicated
to that sweet mystery, or, passing to the chapel of Saints,
even in the severest cold of the winter, she decorates with
filial care the shrine of Our Lady of Great Power.
Although she has become the most aged in the community,
we find her working with her needle as deftly as at the age
of fifteen, fitting in the shades of silk as colors from
the nicest painter’s palette, or wreathing for some country
church, leaves and flowers into such tasteful sprays as could
he surpassed only by nature herself, Then the younger nuns
press around her, won as much by her grace and affability,
as by her exquisite skili. How often, while guiding their
willing tingers to round the opening moss-rose, or spread the
dazzling petals of the lily, would the good Mother describe the
church of Madame de la Peltrie and the altars once decorated
by Mother Mary of the Incarnation, relating many an
unwritten trait of those “good old times.” How often would
she express her deep conviction of the heroic sanctity of the
venerable Mother, adding an ardent wish to see her name on
the list of canonized Saints! That was indeed the frequent
subject of her conversations with her sisters, and the unvary-
ing object of her prayers, The zeal and the talents of
Mother Amiot of the Conception, would have rendered her a
fit instrument in promoting the cause of the canonization,
had the times been more propitious for such an undertaking.
In concluding her obituary, the annalist remarks:
“Although our dear Mother Mary of the Conception was
PRIMITIVE TIMES AND MANNERS 245
eighty-five years old, she had none of the usual infirmities
of that advanced-age. We had hoped to keep her among
us a few years longer, but she was ripe for heaven, Our
Blessed Lord, whom she had so often crowned with flowers
in the Sacrament of his love, wished to crown her with glory
in His kingdom,”
CHAPTER XVI
PRIMITIVE TIMES AND MANNERS
CANADIAN SEIGNIORS. MISS ROBINEAU DE BECANCOOR. MISS DE BOUCHERVILLE.
Associated with the memory of our ancient Mothers, there
often rises a charming picture of the life and manners of
those primitive times of which the Canadian people are so
justly proud,
Thus do we recall to mind, with the name of Mother Marie-
Anne Robineau of the Trinity, the stately manor and the
vast domains which constituted the baronies of Becancour
and Portneuf. The seigniorial mansion and chapel of stone,
bearing the insignia of nobility, were surrounded by all the
buildings required fora large retinue of servants, horses, and
equipages, There were besides, the spacious farm-yard, the
parks, and the never failing grist-mill. The worthy baron
enjoyed by royal patent, “the right of arms, heraldic
honors, rank and precedence, like the other barons of the
kingdom of France”; yet, with his high prerogatives, the
aged Seignior led a life which the historian Charlevoix, when
receiving hospitality at the manor, likened to that of the
ancient patriarchs, sharing the labors of agriculture with his
vassals, and living as frugally as they.
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246 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Perhaps the absence of his daughter had diminished the
gaiety of the household, for according to our traditions,
Mother Robineau of the Trinity, during the three years she
had passed under the paternal roof, had been afforded an
ample share of amusements, dress, dancing, and the usual
round of fashionable pastimes. The remembrance of these
gay soirées, which she used to call gay follies, was not of a
nature to inspire her with regret. She could only despise the
tyranny of custom which could induce people to “ pass the
whole night in bowing and courtesying, as in the ancient
minuet, in the midst of a brilliantly illuminated hall.”
Her own memory has come down to us with far sweeter
associations, Mother Ann of the Trinity, as a religious
was the personification of fervent piety. When we read
that “ during forty years she retained, at her own request,
the office of ringing the bell to awaken the community at
four o’clock,” we feel that we need not pursue her notice
further to know “ of what spirit she was.”
Let us bring before us next another picture of the olden
times, in the family of our ancient and venerated Mother
Genevieve Boucher de Boucherville, in religion, Mother
St. Pierre. Here we find something more intimate to con-
template ; it is the secret intentions, the very heart of the
ancient Governor of Three Rivers, the Honorable Vierre
Boucher, who seems to. us one of the noblest types of the
Christian gentleman, For his probity and disinterestedness,
his valor and merit, he had been endowed by the French
monarch with titles of nobility, and the grant of an impor-
tant tract of land along the St. Lawrence. The question
with this dignitary, who was the father of a large family,
was whether to remain in Three Rivers or to go and settle
PRIMITIVE TIMES AND MANNERS 247
on his lands, The project had been meditated at leisure and
the motives for adopting it are written down. The questions
were not: “ How many thousands of livres will this specu-
lation bring me? Are the risks balanced by the probabilities
of success?” nor any of the usual calculations in similar
circumstances, We read—and feel instructed as we read—
as follows :
‘“‘T have determined to settle on my lands of Boucherville
for the following reasons; and I write them in order never
to forget the motives that have influenced my determination
and the engagements to which I pledge myself.
“T wish also my successors to know my intentions and
fulfil them, unless indeed they can do more for the glory of
God.
“1, It is in order that there may be a place where the
inhabitants, living in peace and harmony, may serve God
sincerely, without fear of being troubled or molested.
“ 2. That I may live more retired from the world and its
vain amusements, which only make us forget God, and thus
more conveniently labor to assure my own salvation and
that of my family.
“ 3, That I may by the most lawful means increase my
riches, provide for my family, and procure for my children
a good and virtuous education, befitting the state of life which
they may embrace.
“4, The land being mine, I think it my duty to settle
there as a means of being useful to society.
“ 5. In order to have the means of doing more good to my
neighbor, and aiding those who are in want, than I am able
to do in my present position, where my revenue is insuffi-
cient for the good works J wish to perform.
“ For the success of my undertaking, I place my trust: in
God, begging His faithful servant, Father de Brebeuf, to
248 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
protect me in my attempt, if it be for the glory of God and
the salvation of my family ; if otherwise, I pray that 1 may
not succeed, desiring nothing but to accomplish the will of
Heaven,”
With intentions so pure and elevated, the noble Christian
resigned to another the office of governor, and removed to
his new domain, The ample blessings of Heaven were poured
down on the rising settlement and on every member of the
pious household. Of fifteen children who surrounded the
table of the Seigneur de Boucherville, two sons became
priests and served God in the sanctuary with zeal and fide-
lity,; one daughter consecrated herself to God as an Ursuline.
It was Genevieve, the eleventh child, the one who, according
to the father’s testimony “ loved him the best,” and who, in
fact, seems to have resembled him most in character.
While his eldest son continues the succession and title of
de Boucherville, his daughters present us by their alliances,
the honorable names of de Grandpré, de Grosbois, de Mont-
brun, de Laperriére, de Niverville, de Varennes, de Muy, de
Sabrevois, and Le Gardeur de Tilly.
Another document, portraying the heart of the venerable
ancestor of the de Boucherville, who died in 1717, at the
age of ninety-five, in the odor of sanctity, has been preserved
to posterity, and is known as the “ Legacy of grandfather
Boucher. ! ” We shall cite a few lines only, for this spiritual
testament is long. Each member of the noble patriarch’s
family is addressed in turn, while the wisest counsels mingle
with the effusions of paternal affection, Like another Tobias
giving his dying blessing, he concludes, saying to all:
1—During many years, according to the testimony of the Hon. J.
Viger of Montreal, this document was read annually, on the anni-
versary of the patriarch’s death, in presence of the family.
PRIMITIVE TIMES AND MANNERS 249
“Love each other sincerely for the love of God. Remember
that you will one day be called, like me, to appear before
Him to render an account of your actions; hence do nothing
of which you will later have to repent... I do not leave you
great riches, but what property I have has been honestly
acquired, I would willingly have left you more, but God is
the master of all things. I leave you many friends, persons
of rank, honor and probity; as to enemies I have none, to
my knowledge.
“JT have done what lay in my power to live without
reproach: do the same. Seek to render service to every one :
Be disobliging to no one, if you can oblige him without
offending God,
“My dear children, ever keep before your eyes the fear of
God and seek to love Him with your whole heart,”
As to his wife, whom he recommends to the tenderest
affection of his children, “ his conscience reproaches him with
nothing that regards her, unless it be that he has loved her
too much; but if that has been an excess, he does not think
God has been offended by it.”
Finally, to his dearest daughter, our Ursuline, he says:
“Do not grieve when you hear of my death; but pray for
me and rejoice that God in calling me to Himself, has deliv-
ered me from the miseries of the present life. If you have
loved me mae than the rest, I also have had great affection
for you and I shall have throughout eternity.”
Then as a dying souvenir, he bequeaths to her a silver
reliquary which he wears upon his bosom, in these words:
“Tt is all that remains to me to give: it is but just that I
bestow it upon one who has shown me so much affection.”
These last words may strike some as remarkable. The
venerable patriarch evidently does not share the opinion of
250 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
such persons as accuse a daughter who consecrates herself
to God of being wanting in filial piety.
A long life of niuety-four years, accorded to our beloved
Mother St. Pierre, seventy-two of which she passed in the
cloister, would furnish many edifying details ; but a few
lines will suffice to characterize her as the worthy daughter
of the grand-pere Boucher de Boucherville, According to the
annals, “ her only ambition was to render herself agreeable
to her Divine Spouse by a strict observance of the rule and
all the duties of the religious state ; her silence and recol-
lection, her piety, obedience, humility and poverty, rendered
her a model for her Sisters. Having abandoned the wealth
and honors of her family to follow Jesus Christ, she attached
herself inviolably to Him, seeking His sacramental presence
on the altar and in holy Communion, as her chief and only
delight. She served the community with equal fervor and to
the satisfaction of all, whether employed in tke highest or the
lowest offices.”
Should any one inquire here, what has become of the
ancient domain of Pierre de Boucherville, we should direct
him to an aristocratic little village on the south shore of the
St. Lawrence, . short distance below Montreal. There are
clustered the comfortable residences of the honorable des-
cendants of the ex-governor of Three Rivers, the first seignior
of Boucherville, their families still keeping up much of the
urbanity, the courteous and dignified demeanor of the feudal
lords of the age of Louis XIV. From the irregularly built
hamlet, with its church, its presbytery, its convent, chapel
and school-house, we behold in the distance Mount Boucher-
ville, from the foot of which issue two small streams to
spread fertility along their path, pausing at one point to turn
the noisy but necessary grist-mill.
PRIMITIVE TIMES AND MANNERS 251
Throughout the whole length and breadth of the ancient
governor’s patrimony—an area of twenty-four syuare miles—
appear pleasant country-seats, surrounded with gardens and
orchards ; white cottages, half buried in verdure; bright
fields of wheat, oats and maize, alternating with patches of
forest-trees, meadows and pasture-lands, In front of the vil-
lage flow the bright waters of the St. Lawrence, losing them-
selves along the shore among verdant islands, as beautiful to
behold as they are convenient for tilling and grazing pur-
poses,
But why attempt to describe a spot which has many a
rival along the pleasant banks of the St. Lawrence—scenes
that Fancy herself
“ Woula scarcely dream of: which one’s eye must see,
To know how beautiful this world can be.”
If we have dwelt with complacency, as it were, upon the
memory of the seignior de Boucherville, it must be pardoned
us, When we explain that besides his daughter Genevieve,
three of his grand-daughters consecrated themselves to God
in the monastery of the Ursulines, during the lifetime of
their venerable ancestor. These were Mother Margaret de
Varennes of the Presentation, Mother Marie-Anne de Bou-
cherville of St. Ignatius, and Mother Charlotte de Muy of
St. Helen, each of whom endeared herself to her contempo-
raries, and edified them by the example of an humble, pious
_and useful’ life. At a later period, our register shows the
names of four great-grand-daughters of the patriarch of Bou-
cherville, perpetuating in the convent the admirable tradi-
tions of ancestral piety.
A
SS Se SS SS See
e
a
=
wi, See e OI ee ey
252 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
CHAPTER XVII
1741
STATE OF THE COUNTRY
ARRIVAL OF BISHOP pR PONTBRIAND
“The history of the Ursulines of Quebec, it has been
remarked, is intimately connected with the history of Canada.”
This fact which has already obliged us to depict other
scenes than those of every day life in the cloister, invites us
again, at this epoch, to cast a glance upon the state of the
country at large. It will be a rapid survey, such as may
have been made by the noble Frenchman who, in 1741, was
entering the colony to make it his future home. It was
natural that the newly consecrated ‘ Bishop, Henri-Marie
Dubreuil de Pontbriand, should take a deep interest in every
thing that regarded a country for which, like the Good Shep-
herd, he would lay down his life.
In the last days of August, the ship bearing the noble
prelate was hailed from the citadel; and soon the glad tidings
spread that a bishop was on board. For many years past,
the widowed Church of Canada had looked in vain for the
fulness of her authority, and consequently of hér peace and
strength, in the presence of her lawful head.
Count Henri de Pontbriand was worthy to be the successor
of the illustrious de Laval and de St, Valier. In him, France
was bestowing the last mitred pastor she would furnish to
that colony, which religion more than her own policy had
founded, guarded and fostered,’ and from which, in less
than twenty years from our present date, her sceptre would
pass away, almost without an effort on her part to retain it.
ARRIVAL OF BISHOP DE PONTBRIAND 2538
But the joy-bells tell not the secret of coming years, and
neither prelate nor people foresaw the momentous events
which the future held in store for them; events which would
fill the cup of woe for many a smiling household, now only
expectant of growing prosperity, and wring with anguish the
paternal heart of the zealous pontiff during the last years of
his generous labors for the good of his people.
At this moment, however, all was peace and security, The
new Bishop, with a light heart at the happy termination of
a long sea-voyage, sets foot on shore. The Marquis de
Beauharnois, at the head of the principal government officers
and the chief citizens of Quebec, has given the right hand
of welcome to the noble prelate ; complimentary addresses
have been made; the capitulary vicars, de Miniac and
Hazeur, surrounded by the clergy, have presented their
homage and their congratulations, All has been cordiality,
gratitude to Heaven, mutual good wishes and mutual delight.
The Ursulines of Quebec shared the public rejoicings in no
common degree. To their just appreciation of their pastor’s
merits on this first interview, they soon had occasion to add
their gratitude for the many instances of his paternal interest
in their welfare.
The Marquis de Beauharnois had governed the colony for
the last fifteen years, aad might well rejoice in the progress
that had been made during his administration. All along
the banks of the St. Lawrence, through more than a hundred
parishes, he could point to thriving farms stocked with cattle,
planted with fruit-trees, and yielding fine harvests of grain,
vegetables, and all the products required for living com-
fortably.. Within the snug cottage, the pleasant farm-house,
and the seigniorial manor, the busy wheel and industrious
loom gave employment to female hands, supplying the
254 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
household with clothing according to the season. Mines of
copper and lead had been discovered along the lakes; the
iron foundry of St. Maurice, near Three Rivers, had called
the hidden metal from its ore, and now furnished implements
of husbandry and cutlery for which the people had hitherto
been dependent on France, The exports of Canada were no
longer confined to peltry, but included the surplus products
of the country, to which might be added the important
resource of ship-building,
The good Bishop had reason to be equally satisfied with
the religious aspect of his diocese, as far as Canada was con-
cerned, Thirteen establishments of education or of charity
published the zeal of his predecessors, and gave evidence of
the spirit in which the colony has been founded. In Quebec,
science and letters had long been cultivated at the college of
the Jesuits and at the Seminary of Bishop Laval. Montreal
had the fine Seminary of the Sulpicians, to diffuse the bless-
ings of learning and piety among its three thousand inhab-
itants.
As tothe extent of the diocese and the magnitude of the pas-
toral charge at that period, we must remember that not only
the valley of the St. Lawrence and the regions of the North
and the West, but the vast tracts watered by the Mississippi
and its branches, were under the spiritual jurisdiction of the
Bishop of Quebec. Nor was this charge merely nominal, The
hardy discoverers who had traversed the wilderness to the
Gulf of Mexico and the Rocky Mountains, had planted the
Cross and raised beside it the flag of France, which now
floated over forts or settlements all along these wide-stretch-
ing boundaries. At one extremity was the fine flourishing
colony of Acadia; at the other, with an intervening distance
of four thousand miles, were Mobile and New Orleans.
Canada had a population of 40,000 inhabitants,
- “
i * t 4 x % » oe é A et 7 é
PS Oe ee ee SS BA NOR Seen ae Seep Gan eee ee VEE LE Te pee WMC EN, Rae CaS Fanart Pepi de ED \ STN, Ob eee Re Ce a a Ce i! ae. ie
ta ne te opment = gen nate pp
ARRIVAL OF BISHOP DE PONTBRIAND 255
If the native tribes, tirst won to Christianity, had sensibly
diminished in numbers, all the vast inland country was
peopled with the savage red-men; and over these the pas-
toral solicitude of the Bishop would be exerted, The indefati-
gable missionaries continued their arduous labors, amid the
innumerable obstacles presented by the roving life of our
American aborigines, Sad to say, new impediments had been
Ra a i en
put to their conversion: new vices had been awakened in)
these poor children of the forests, by the conduct of those
vagrant hunters, /es cowreurs de bois!, who, trafficking in
fur and fire-water, might well be called the missionaries of
evil, Their lives and practices fully exemplified a saying of
our venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation, that “ without
the restraints of religion, a Frenchman would soon lay aside
those of civilization and become worse than a savage.”
Such then, in a few words, was the aspect of this vast
country, confided for its spiritual wants to the care of Bishop
de Pontbriand, in 1741; such had it become in the space of
a century, counting from that feeble commencement, that
weak infancy in which it appeared when our Venerable
Mother, with her heroic companions, first set foot upon its
soil,
The expiration of another century (1839) will present a
still greater contrast ; yet we shall see that through all its
vicissitudes and through all its trials, from within or from
without, Canada has thus far been “a country especially
9”
guarded by divine Providence 2.
1—Bush-rangers. This roving life has such attractions that laws
had to be made to prevent the absence of so many young French-
men from the colony. No fewer than 800 were, at one time, thus
absent without leave.
-2— Words of Venerable Marie de I’Incarnation.
GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
CHAPTER XVIII
1752
THE MUSES IN TILE CLOISTER
Curious old manuscripts, after escaping during a century
or more the annual perils of the season of house-cleaning,
the Vandalism of epochs of demolition and reparation, some-
times suddenly come to light, and make us wish there had
been some law to prevent the destruction of other similar
documents, of little interest perhaps in themselves, yet pre-
cious as objects of curiosity, and useful in illustrating the
past history of the Convent, Before us is one of those ancient
scrolls, which appears of some importance. It is dated
August 23rd, 1752, and introduces us to a little scene in the
cloister, by which we may form some idea of what was
expected of the pupils of the Ursulines in those days. We
can only make a few extracts.
The occasion that brought the company together within
the convent-halls is not specified, Whatever it may have
been, we find there present, the Governor the Marquis
Duquesne de Menneville, the Bishop of Quebec de Pont-
briand, the Intendant ; perhaps also the City Major, the
Chevalier Lemoyne de Longueuil, with Mademoiselle Char-
lotte de Grey, now Madame de Longueuil, who was not
accustomed to miss any opportunity of entering the Mon-
astery.
The Superior, whose duty it was to receive these distin-
guished guests, was Mother Geneviéve Boucher of St. Pierre,
the venerable Mother being now in her eightieth year, By
her side, as next in office, are Mother La Grange of St. Louis,
Mother Drouard of St. Michael, Mother Migeon of the Nati-
an RRRRRRinandianiinn eemmeeenenee ee oe ee eee
THE MUSES IN THE CLOISTER 257
vity, the late Superior ; Mother Wheelwright of the Infant
Jesus and Mother de Muy of St. Helen were near, while
with the pupils, directing their movements, might be seen
some of the younger nuns, Mother Marchand of St. Etienne,
Mother Davanne of St. Louis de Gonzague, and her com-
panion, Mother Richard of St, Augustin.
If this was an examination, the list of prizes is unfortun-
ately missing. Another list, however, enables us to re-people
the hall with pupils. Let us transcribe a few names, for we
are about to behold an Arcadian scene. Here are the Misses
Madeleine and Catherine de Brouague, daughters of the
Intendant of the Labrador coasts, the Misses de Léry, de
Boisclair, de Gannes, de Lusignan, des Meloises, La Force,
Gabrielle de la Jonquiére, Ursule Baby, &e.
Here also are the grand-nieces of the venerable Superior,
Miss Francoise de Boucherville and Miss Boucher de Gros-
bois, Miss Louise de Muy and others !; but let these suffice,
for our personages await,
Behold them, as, in the light costume of nymphs and shep-
herdesses, they issue from a verdant and flowery grove at
the extremity of the hall.
The actresses having advanced in front of the illustrious
guests, an ingenious prologue serves to rivet the attention of
the audience. But listen to the youthful shepherdess, who
1—Other pupils of that time: The Misses du Plessis, Le Due,
‘Couillard, Durocher, Rhodes, Berthelot, Le Mire, Girard, Beaudoin,
Le Vasseur (Louisbourg), the Misses de Blainville, Varin, de Vince-
lot, de Chavigny, du Four, Poulin, LeBlanc, Hertei de Rouville,
St. Hubert, Voyer, Aubert, Taschereau, Berment de la Martiniére,
Bédard, Baby, Roussel, de l’[sle, Philibert, de Lantagnac, Channa-
zard, St. Germain, de Grey, Chauveau, the Misses Fleury d’Escham-
bault, the Misses de Verchéres, Nicolet, Douville, &c.
17
i ne
2
cag et pe tS a LR AE EE OR IL AE LP EE LO I I CIA EM
cnr et are eat
- a
aon
2
=e =
ws
|
258 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
compliments the Governor in a graceful idyl in which from
time to time joins the whole group; a chorus fit to wake all
the echoes, from the city of Champlain to the Laurentides,
Observe the opening :
Soro.
Strike now a livelier chord,
Awake a loftier strain ;
Behold ! ’tis a Duquesne.
Welcome! the noble Lord !
If his brave sires of old :
To France preserved a throne,
His sword—it is foretold—
Shall here the same uphold ;
The glory all his own.
Corus.
Let his great name,
O’er hill and plain,
Resound in song,
Sweet pipe and tabor bring ;
Let the glad echoes ring,
Pouring triumphal notes along.
From o’er the main
Ife comes—Duquesne—
To guard the land ;
First in true worth, first in command!
2nd Shepherdess.
Our vows were not in vain,
A brighter day has come};
Peace broods o’er every home,
And plenty decks the plain.
Our flocks secure may stray,
In pastures fresh and green:
Our foes, all in dismay,
Flee from the light of day,
When such a Chief is seen.
THE MUSES IN THE CLOISTER 259
3rd Shepherdess.
Gay Shepherds, cease your song!
To Orpheus yield the lyre.
He has celestial tire,
‘To him the notes belong.
Let him in strains sublime,
Exalt our Hero’s fame,
Spread it to every clime,
Enduring as Old Time,
And worthy of his name!
(A translation from the original.)
Evidently, mythological lore is in vogue in Quebee, in the
18th century, On this occasion the muse, it must be allowed,
has not been sparing of incense. In addressing the Bishop,
the tone is more filial, and while the admiration is not less,
there is greater simplicity.
With united heart and voice
We sing our gratitude;
Our Pastor is of God’s own choice,
Beloved, as he is good!
Unbounded is his sacred zeal,
His flock his only care;
No words his merit can reveal,
Nor all our love declare.
Poems in honor of the worthy Bishop were recited on
more than one occasion. During the course of that same
year, the pious prelate, “ whose zeal for the good of souls left
him no repose, was five months absent from Quebec, giving
retreats at Montreal for the religious communities and for
the public, as he had done here before his departure, He
penetrated some forty or fifty leagues beyond Montreal, tra-
versing pathless deserts, through marshes and ravines, borne
over frightful rapids in a bark canoe; undergoing hardships
that can scarcely be imagined, His return was celebrated by
our poets in varied measures,”
GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
The following version gives a part of one of these occa-
sional odes :
While peals of joy ring out to-day,
And happy crowds obstruct the way,
To bless our peaceful Convent-home,
Our worthy Prelate deigns to come.
My Lord, accept from children dear,
A tribute humble yet sincere:
To sing of sacred zeal like thine,
The Muse herself should be divine.
Il
While thou wert absent all was dull,
Flora herself no flowers would cull:
The zephyrs fled our lonely bowers,
And slowly waned the weary hours.
One warbler sang—’twas Philomel—
Repeating what we know so well:
To sing of sacred zeal like thine,
The Muse herself should be divine.
II]
Ah! wonder not that all rejoice,
And greet thee with exulting voice,
Thrice honored Prelate, when ‘tis known
What glorious works thy hand has done.
With admiration, all may see
The land, renewed in piety.
O yes! to sing of zeal like thine,
The Muse herself should be divine!
Our last specimen of the poetical effusions of the epoch
records also a historical fact. It wasin 1753, The Ursulines
of Three Rivers had seen their convent destroyed by fire,
THE MUSES IN THE CLOISTER 261
The worthy Pvelate’s generous devotedness on that occasion
was appreciated, not only by the immediate objects of his
benevolence, but also by the Ursulines of Quebec.
We are careful to preserve the mythological allusions in our
version, The poem begins :
Among the gods, if poets’ lays are true,
Deeds most surprising were not rare to view ;
And all Olympus did the feat admire,
When bright Apollo cast aside his lyre,
Forbore to sing, and seized the heavy spade,
Or with the mason’s trowel mortar laid.
Like him, my Lord, you put the apron on,
And soften hearts, while you are laying stone.
More than Apollo’s, we your labors prize,
While from their ruins sacred walls arise.
What charity is yours! what holy zeal!
How generous to promote the public weal !
God’s glory is your aim; and here we find
A lesson for ourselves to take to mind.
Our daily labors must to Heaven all tend:
God and our neighbor’s good, our only end.
Yes! Heaven has blest your mission, all of love,
And guards for you the brightest crown above.
Long may it be our happy lot to know
You have a rich reward, e’en here below.
May all your flock be docile to your zeal,
And follow in your footsteps, for their weal ;
Nor ever from that way of life depart,
Traced by a Pastor, after God’s own heart !
262 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
CHAPTER XIX
THE GUESTS OF THE URSULINES
If the woes of our friends become by sympathy our own,
it must not be deemed foreign to our subject to introduce
here a brief account of the destruction of the Hétel-Dieu, in
1755,
lt was only three years since a similar disaster had befallen
the convent and hospital of the Ursulines of Three Rivers,
as we have elsewhere related. Now it was the oldest of the
charitable institutions in the country that was to be destroyed,
It was about mid-day on the 7th of June that a fire,
which must have been creeping on unobserved for hours,
suddenly declared itself by bursting through the roof. A
strong wind from the north-west fany ' *‘e flames to a
tremendous conflagration. In the space oi a few hours, the
convent, the church, the hospital and out-houses were swept
away, with all the moveables, the comforts and resources
which more than a hundred years had brought together, for
the acccmmodation of the poor patients or the community.
It is needless to say how quickly the whole city, in alarm,
was gathered to witness the heart-rending scene, and to
deplore the impotency of human efforts to arrest the pro-
gress of the fiery torrent. The whole neighbourhood was in
imminent danger.
The terror of the nuns, their exertions, their heroic courage,
"shared by their friends of every grade, while removing to a
place of safety, decrepit old people, idiots, the sick, and the
maimed; their laudable endeavors to save from the wreck
whatever was most prized or most needful, all this may be
THE GUESTS OF THE URSULINES 263
imagined, But alas! other scenes were witnessed there,
upon which we would willingly forbid our imagination to
dwell, In this hour of anguish, the nuns knew that one of
their beloved Sisters was at the point of death. Must they
disturb the tranquillity of her last motsents, and hasten per-
haps her end, by transporting the poor sufferer from her
dying bed in the infirmary, into the crowded court-yard ?
There was no other alternative, even had there heen time for
deliveration,
Another, surrounded in her cell by the fire, seeks to des-
cend from the fourth story ; a ladder had been sent up to her
aid, the vigorous arms of the soldiery holding it firm. Sud-
denly, while every one shudders to behold the peril, a by-
stander shouts to her that several steps are missing below
her feet! How the good Angels were invoked! and how they
aided the good Sister to preserve her presence of mind, Seizing
the two side-pieces of the ladder, she supports herself by her
hands till she again has a foot-hold, and thus, amid the cheers
of the crowd, she reaches the ground, narrowly escaping
however, being enveloped by the smoke and flames, now
pouring from the lowest windows.
At last she is safe! But where is that other Sister, who
has been seen a moment at a window, in the act of throwing
out a parcel, and now has disappeared? In vain are the
frantic shouts of those who would be her deliverers ; in vain
the search in every direction for some trace of the missing
one; in vain the tears and lamentations of her Sisters when,
assembled at last, they find their number incomplete. Sister
Anne La Joue of the Sacred Heart had perished. But it was
under the eye of Him to whom she had vowed her existence.
Doubtless the Lord had inspired her to make the heroic
sacrifice of her life, by a perfect resignation in that terrible :
264 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
a
moment when she found herself wrapt as in a winding-sheet
of flame.
Our Ursulines from their monastery could witness the
conflagration, They had watched with pity and dismay the
progress of the fire, and had sent the most pressing invitations
to the hospitalicres to take refuge under their roof. Messen-
gers had already made known the melancholy details we
have just given, and the sinking flames wore a sad and
lurid glare, a funereal hue that told of death.
At last the dear nuns, now forty-nine in number, directed
their mournful steps towards the centre of the town. Weep-
ing friends and relatives attended them on their way, and
crowds of people followed to testify their sympathy and their
afiliction. We shall not attempt to describe the meeting of
the two communities, few of whom were strangers, while
many were relatives or class-mates, or remembered each
other either as former teachers or pupils.
Mother Mailloux of St. Andrew, the dying nun of whom
we have spoken, was tenderly borne to the infirmary, and
cared for according to her need. She lived till the Monday
following, experiencing in her last moments the consolation
of feeling herself passing secure from the embrace of sisterly
charity to the bosom of the God of charity, The burial-ser-
vice and the accustomed suffrages for the departed were per-.
formed by both communities, and the dear vemains of the
hospitaliere deposited in the vault where the deceased Ursu-
lines repose, “in order, says the annalist, that her ashes
mingling with ours may serve to render enduring that union
which has ever subsisted between us.”
The generous hospitality which in former days (1651 and
1686) the Ursulines had received at the Hétel-Dieu had not
been ‘forgotten, and they esteemed themselves happy in
being able to afford a return ; but not all the ingenious devices.
PRELUDES OF THE GREAT ORISIS 265
of friendship, not all the sympathy and affection with which
they sought to cheer their guests, could induce these devoted
nurses of the sick to forget their precious charge, A tempo-
rary hospital was provided by the paternal solicitude of
Bishop de Pontbviand, the kind Jesuit Fathers having cheer-
fully offered for this end, several spacious apartments of
their college. Thus, at the end of three weeks, on the 28th
of June, the Ursulines and their guests bade each other a
tender adieu. Mingled emotions sent their signals to the
cheek and eye, as the spouses of Jesus separated, with the
following words, betokening a last farewell: “ MAY WE MEET
IN HEAVEN! ”
CHAPTER XX
PRELUDES OF THE GREAT CRISIS
For nearly a half-century all has been in peace along the
shores of the St. Lawrence. The last fifteen years, over
which we have just glanced, have been as prolific of comfort
in the happy homes of New France as the next decade will
be of disaster, alarm and suffering. Troubles were now com-
mencing along the distant frontier, and soldiers were wanted
to guard the outposts of this great French domain, threatened
by the Anglo-American colonies already strong enough to
think of war and conquest.
Our Ursuline Mothers could not be indifferent, when the
welfare of the country was interested. The ties of nature as
well as of grace linked them with the whole population; and
the tidings that sent grief or mourning to any hearth in
266 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
town or hamlet, ever found an echo in their hearts, The
annalist of the time, Mother de Muy of St. Helen, has left us
minute details of thai long campaign, the Seven Years’ War,
from the first bloody conflict on the banks of the Monongahela,
to the day whea the British trumpet of war resounded from
the cliffs of Cape Diamond.
From year to year the sufferings of the people were on
the increase, Now it was the failure of crops, the absence of
laborers having left the land untilled; now it was the loss
of vessels, sailing from or to the colony. In the course of a
few months—this was in 1758—more than three hundred
French merchant-ships were captured by the British war-
fleet with the loss of provisions, merchandise and military
stores destined for Canada, where they were sorely needed,
To these causes of distress was added the inclemency of the
seasons,
Of the month of June, 1758, we read: “ The cold is so
extreme that we have to kindle fires as in winter. Nothing
is growing. The flowers of the fruit-trees have been blighted
by the frost, and what is worse, the wheat-fields have been
frozen, There is every prospect that there will be no harvest,
The hand of the Almighty weighs heavily upon this poor
country. The English goad us on every side, and the Indians,
won by their presents, threaten to abandon us,
“ We have experienced, however, the goodness of divine
Providence in our greatest need. The people had passed the
winter on rations of four ounces of bread daily, and were on
the point of being reduced to two ounces. No vegetables
could be procured, and meat was excessively scarce. In short,
starvation was staring us in the face, when, on the 27th of
May, a French merchant-ship was descried in the distance.
People were wild with joy. Some climbed to the roofs of
their houses and mounted the ‘chimney-tops, to assure them-
PRELUDES OF THE GREAT ORISIS 267
selves that the good news was true, and to announce it to
the crowds in the streets, Greater still were the rejoicings,
when others ships were seen coming in, At six o’clock in
the evening, there were ten vessels, «nd a few days later,
fourteen were anchored in the late vacant harbor,
“ But the vessels have brought us sad news of the state
of religion in Europe; and of the great efforts the English
are making to take Canada,”
A little later, the writer records the taking of Lonisbourg,
By the loss of that stronghold, the French colonists, still
more isolated from France, were left without other resource
than that energy inspired by the love of their country and
their religion. It is not astonishing if Frenchmen and Catho-
lies viewed with horror the possibility of falling under English
rule, Catholicity was at that time, by the legislation of Eng-
land, a crime. The penal laws were in full force, The deplor-
able fate of the Acadians was the most recent proof how
ready the conqueror ever is to exclaim: “ Woe to the van-
quished ! ”
A whole people torn from their homes, separated from each
other, forced on board ships, to be borne off and cast unpro-
vided-for upon various inhospitable shores, for no other
cause but, their religion, was a terrible warning. Death
seemed preferable to the misfortune of being conquered.
So it was understood by the brave Montcalm and his brother-
officers, who had resolved to bury themselves under the ruins
of the colony, rather than to give it up to the enemy. So it
was understood by the colonists at large throughout the
country,
Meanwhile, the tide of misfortune that had set in against
the French in America was ever growing stronger. The last
gleam of hope seemed extinguished, when the intrepid envoy
who had penetrated, as it were, through the enemy’s
268 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
lines, in order to obtain the assistance of the French
Monarch, returned only to announce that his petition was
rejected, Henceforth the colony felt itself abandoned by the
mother-country, and gathering courage from the greatness of
the emergency, the population rose as one man to defend to
the last their altars and their homes. The dreary winter
of 1758-1759 was the fourth, during which the sufferings of
fainine had weighed upon the whole country, The nuns who
record these facts state that they also were reduced to rations ;
they bewail the necessity that obliged them to present, even
to those who were sick, ‘“ bread as black as their robes.” They
mention that some poor Acadians, escaping the lot of their
countrymen, had wandered through the woods and wilds till
they reached Quebec, where their sorrows and sufferings
added new terrors to the approach of the common foe.
The snows of wintry fields at last had melted, the ice-
bound streams were free. Nature, refusing to assort her
colors to the sombre hues of the political horizon, had clothed
once more the earth in green, and decked the forests with
budding leaves and fragrant blossoms. The great, glorious
River, spreading out its broad expanse to the warm sun of
early summer, seemed to ask news of the many welcome
ships that were wont, at this season, to mirror their white
sails on its bosom.
Suddenly, on the 26th of June, the British war-fleet stood
in sight. It was a formidable array of armed vessels, includ-
ing twenty-two ships of the line, forty frigates and tran-
sports, bearing 30,000 soldiers and seamen, flushed with the
recent victories that had rendered them masters of the Gulf,
and elated with the good fortune that had given them a
prosperous voyage. Our annalist could not have known
their strength, but her words were a prophecy when she
exclaimed: “ The country is lost! ”
DURING THE SIEGE 269
CHAPTER XXI
1759
DURING THE SIEGE
It had not required the electric wires to carry from one end
of the country to the other the news that a formidable English
fleet was on its way to attack the capital of Canada, The
gigantic preparations for this final invasion were known, but
instead of giving way to despondency, the entire population
was animated with courage in proportion to the danger, A
levy of militia included every male capable of bearing arms,
between the ages of fifteen and sixty, Old men of seventy
and boys of thirteen or fourteen, tendered their services and
would not be refused, The citizens of Quebec, after sending
theif families to a place of safety, were needed to strengthen
the garrison, and to man the batteries that commanded the
harbor, All along the shores of the St. Lawrence, the defence-
less population that remained in hamlet or village, the
intirm and aged, the women and children, wnder the care of
their priest and the civil officers, had orders to retire from
their houses as the fleet approached, and to hide themselves
with their effects in the woods at the base of the mountains,
or in the wild forest of the southern plains.
The army under Montcalm, made up of five battalions of
regulars, wasted and worn with hard service and poor fare,
had been augmented by about 6,000 Canadiens, who had not
suffered less from fimine and hardships, but who felt them-
‘selves invincible in their ardor to defend their homes, their
country and their religion, From their cloister, the Ursulines
could see the disposition of the army, its centre at Beauport,
270 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
its wings extending from the bridge of boats on the St.
Charles to the battery on the rugged cliffs of the Montmo-
revcy,
On the tirst of July the English tleet had reached the
[sland of Orleans, whence the inhabitants had just fled to
the appointed place of concealment. The men-of-war lay at
unchor, and the troops, disembarking, set foot on the soil they
had been sent to conquer for the English crown, Cautiously
they continued to sound their way as they entered the magni-
ficent harbor, capable of containing four hundred vessels as
proud as theirs, But they were not suffered to proceed,
On every side the French were on the alert and the cannons
of the garrison were not idle.
On the 12th of July, at nine in the evening, from batteries
erected at Point Levy, the enemy began a heavy cannonade
on the city. The Lower Town, at only a mile’s distance from
the opposite shore, had been deserted by its inhabitants who
foresaw its coming fate, The red-hot balls and bomb-shells
did their work of destruction, shattering many houses and
setting them on fire. The Upper Town, which had not been
so completely evacuated, proved to be within the range of
the enemy’s guns, and the greatest panic prevailed, Our
Mothers, ever willing to hope for the best, had not abandoned
the cloister. “ But, says the annalist, at the first discharge
from the English batteries, the convent was struck in many
places. We passed the night before the Blessed Sacrament,
in such terrors as may be imagined.”
With the return of day-light, it was resolved to remove
the community to a place of greafer safety. It would have
been temerity to remain longer within reach of the murderous
»rojectiles which had wrought such havoe in a single night,
The venerable Superior Mother Migeon of the Nativity, who
had provided herselt with a permission in case of such an
DURING THE SIEGE 271
emergency, invited each one to make up her little parcel, such
as she could carry, and to follow her, while there is a pause
in the firing. But suddenly there is a little delay, No! the
convent will not be totally abandoned. Ten of the Sisters,
with the depositary, Mother Davanne of St. Louis de Gon-
zague at their head, have offered to remain, The chaplain,
Tather Resche, with two of his friends, have volunteered to
be their guardians, and all are satisfied with the arrange-
ment, Mother Superior gives her blessing to the little band
as they sorrowfully bid each other adieu, Some among those
who were going forth from their peaceful cloister were very
aged, others were weak and sickly. Did any then foresee
that, for two of those beloved Mothers, it was a last farewell,
as they issued sorrowful and trembling from their convent-
home ?
They pass down the street through Palace-gate, They give
no thought to the splenders of the Intendant Bigot’s palace
which they pass, nor to his iniquitous proceedings, of which
they were probably uninformed: but hurry on by tie nearest
paths, across the meadows that intervene between the town
and the General Hospital; for that is the asylum they are
seeking, adding their numbers to the hundreds of defenceless
wanderers already sheltered by those benevolent ladies,
The General Hospital had become a “ city of refuge ” for
nearly 800 persons, The nuns of the Hétel-Dieu were already
there, and like the Ursulines, were prepared to take their
share of the fatigues devolving upon the hospitaliéres,
Every apartment was crowded, All the out-houses, the
sheds and barns, were occupied ; every garret and corner
was filled with the wretched pallets of the poor ref-
ugees, their bundles of clothing, and whatever they valued
or sought to preserve, It was among these sorrowing people,
whose countenances betrayed anxiety and consternation, that
272 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
the good Bishop de Pontbriand, who had taken refuge at
Charlesbourg, was seen every day, coming like an angel of
consolation, to comfort, encourage and bless,
Later, as numbers of the wounded were brought in, the
church also was transformed into a hospital, The only place
that remained vacant was the nuns’ choir, where the poor
people crowded to assist daily at the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass. There, the three communities assembled to recite
the Divine Oftice, the only respite they allowed themselves
from their labors in assisting the poor and necdy, or tending
the sick. Thus passed the long summer; for long and
tedious it seemed to those whose aching hearts were swayed
by alternate hope and dread, Each day brought some new
cause for mourning, or some new spectacle of woe. Fires,
kindled by the red-hot projectiles, continued the work of
devastation. At times it seemed as if the whole city was
doomed to perish in one vast conflagration, If the garrison,
within their stronghold and battling with the enemy, were
safe, it was not thus with the few inhabitants who still
ventured to walk the streets, or who persisted in remaining
within their own dwellings. News of fatal accidents occur-
ring almost daily, increased the anxiety of the absent nuns
for their brave Sisters left at home. How often their eyes
were turned to that dear spot! What anguish they endured
as from time to time they discovered, or got tidings of some
new devastation ! One day the red-hot balls, falling upon a
shed, set it on fire. All the out-houses of the cor.vent were
consumed, the flames rising high and threatening to extend
to all the buildings around, Another time they witnessed
the burning of the cathedral and all the dwelling-houses in
its vicinity. A heart-rending thing for all was the devas-
tation perpetrated along the shores of the St. Lawrence,
DURING THE SIEGE 273
where houses and churches were wantonly set on fire and
depredations of every kind committed.
We need not ask if the poor exiles often fled to the foot of
the Tabernacle to find strength and hope, meekly accepting
the bitter chalice from the hand of God, and saying with the
patient man of old: “ Though He slay me, yet will I trust
in Him.”
At length, it was September, That month, so short in
Canada, with its balmy atmosphere, its lustrous skies, its
pleasant harvest scenes, had brought them the Feast of the
Virgin’s birth-day, and with it hopes of security, Evidently
the English were tired of their useless offorts to gain any
advantage over the French. The city was nearly destroyed,
but it was not taken. They had once tried to attack Mont-
calm in his intrenchments on the Beauport piains, and it had
been a failure. Would not the early autumn, so quickly
followed by winter, force the enemy to withdraw their fleet ?
For several days. the troops which had so long been idle,
were moving in various directions along the shores, above
and below Quebec; but they were watched, and all weak
points were guarded. No one knew the daring project the
intrepid Wolfe was meditating. It was a last resource; if it
failed, the campaign was over.
Our readers kuow how every thing conspired to render
the enterprise successful, The silence of the night told no
tales of the stealthy march of 5,000 soldiers, The echoes of
the cliff only brought the listening boatmen the necessary ,
password, No rock of the shelving precipice gave way under
the quick footsteps of the eager English soldier.
The first rays of the morning of that memorable 13th
September fell on the glittering arms of ‘an enemy, not yet
within the gates, but on the heights which alone had rendered
18
; ‘
274 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
the city impregnable. The Battle of the Plains had taken
place before noon, crowding into the brief space of one hour
events that have changed the destinies of New France,
while History has kept her record, and taught the same les-
son as Faith: “ That all things work together for good to
them that love God.”
CHAPTER XXII
September, 1759
SCENES AFTER THE BATTLE OF THE PLAINS
How fared the General Hospital, with its many inhabit-
ants on the day of battle ? How fared the three communities,
on the morrow of that defeat of the French army which had
been accomplished almost at their very doors ?
The Hospital, from the hour of midnight, has been sur-
rounded by a detachment of those same Scotch Highlanders,
whose bright claymores glittered so terribly as they pursued
down the hill-side Montcalm’s routed forces, But their
attitude now is not hostile. Their commander, Captain.
McDonell, has explained, in a brief interview with the three
Superiors, the necessity he is under of investing the place in
order to prevent a surprise. He has pledged his word that
no harm shall befall the inmates of Notre Dame des Anges.
He claims their benevolent services for the wounded of the
English army, who are brought in indiscriminately with the
French from the battle-field.
Alas! among the latter, the nuns often found their own
near relatives, without being able to do more to soothe their
dying hour than for the strangers committed to their charity.
SCENES AFTER THE BATTLE OF THE PLAINS 275
The remnants of the French army, after turning many
times upon their pursuers, had completely disappeared. Their
tents were still standing along the plains of Beauport ; but
their batteries and trenches were silent and solitary ; their
guns, still pointed, were mute.” Along the battle-field of the
Plains, still reeking with gore and covered with the slain,
the victors were opening the turf, to hide from view the
hideous effects of war ; bearing off such of the poor victims
as still survived, and hastening to intrench themselves, to
secure their position so fortunately gained,
Around the citadel, groups of French officers are seen in
consultation ; their gloomy countenances tell of indecision,
weariness, and despondency. Within, a feeble garrison of
seven or eight hundred men await the orders of their supe-
rior officers : the soldier’s watch-word is obedience,
At nine o’clock in the evening of that 14th September, a
funeral cortege. issuing from the castle, winds its way through
the dark and obstructed streets to the little church of the
Ursulines. With the heavy tread of the coffin-bearers, keep
time the measured footsteps of the military escort,de Ramesay
and the officers of the garrison following to their last resting-
place the lifeless remains of their illustrious Commander-in-
chief, No martial pomp was displayed around that humble
bier ; but the hero who had afforded, at his dying hour, the
sublime spectacle of a Christian, yielding up his soul to God
in the most admirable sentiments of faith and resignation,
was not laid in unconsecrated ground.
No burial rite could be more solemn than that hurried
evening service, performed by torch-light wnder the dilapi-.
dated roof of a sacred asylum, where the soil had first been
laid bare by one of the rude engines of war. The grave tones.
of the priests nurmuring the Libera me, Domine, were re-~
276 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
sponded to by the sighs and tears of consecrated virgins,
henceforth the guardians of the precious deposit which, had
not divine wisdom ordained otherwise, would have been
reserved to honor some proud mausoleum,
With gloomy forebodings and bitter thoughts, de Ramesay
and his companious in arms, withdrew in silence, nor ven-
tured to
“ Discharge one farewell shot
O’er the tomb where a hero was buried!”
A few citizens had gathered in, and among the rest, one
led by the hand his little daughter! who, looking into the
open grave, saw and remembered more than three fourths of
a century later, the rough wooden box which was all the
ruined city could afford to enclose the remains of her defender !
But while all is silent again around the convent of the
Ursulines, let us transport ourselves in spirit to the hospital,
where are assembled so many poor trembling women and
children, homeless widows and orphans, helpless old men and
sick or wounded soldiers, Stunned with the events of the
last forty-eight hours, the final result of which is yet uncer-
tain, all await in cruel suspense. Had the last hour of the
French rule in Canada passed away? Had the colony
exchanged masters with that brief struggle, the battle of the
Plains? Would not the French troops rally and return,
awakening again the death-telling roar of artillery, and expos-
ing to the fatal stroke even that remnant of friends and rela-
tives ?
1—Mother Dubé of St. Ignatius, who died in 1839, at the age of
eighty-eight.
SCENES AFTER THE. BATTLE OF 'THE PLAINS 277
But at this late evening hour, sleep and sorrow have closed
the eyes of all, except those who suffer or who watch to alle-
viate sufferings. Of both classes there are not a few, and
among them we find our dear Ursuline Mothers, One little
dormitory is all that the most tender hospitality has been
able to assign them, and to-night, it is transformed into a
death-chamber for two of their number, two whose last
hour has been hastened by the calamitous scenes through
which they had just passed. Mother Jeryan of St. Joseph,
rescued from captivity among the Indians and received forty
years ago among the daughters of St. Ursula, will no more
return to her beloved monastery ; but exiled from her second
home, she has departed to her happy eternal home in heaven,
The second victim, whose heart broke, it would seem, with
the death-blow given to her country, was Mother Charlotte
de Muy of St. Helen, the same whose hand has traced for
us all the ‘:tails of the war, up to the day when the nearer
approach of the enemy. gave her a presentiment of what
would be the result of the impending crisis.
If the brave General whose deeds she recorded with such
interest, rejoiced that he was permitted to die before Quebec
would surrender, the humble spouse of, Christ, herself the
daughter of one who had governed a part of the colony,
(Louisiana), resigned herself all the more readily to go forth
from this world, that she might not see her country ruled by
a foreign, power.
The soldier has his grave under the roof of the monastery.
The two Ursulines repose in a little garden-cemetery, beside
the hospital where so many brave soldiers expired ; their
ashes mingle with those of the generous hospitalierves, whose
friendship was to our dear Mothers the sweetes{ solace of
their exile, |
278 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
A few days later, the city had capitulated. The victors
enter, to behold the ruins they have made, and are forced
to repair them, to find lodgings for themselves, The red cross
of St. George is flying from the heights of Cape Diamond,
instead of the lily-starred banner of St. Louis, when the
Ursulines re-enter their cloister. It was on the 21st of Sep-
tember, after an absence of seventy days.
The spectacle which the convent presented has been graph-
ically depicted in our Annals. “The building that serves
for the extern school-house, in ruins ; the sacristy, the chapel
of the Saints, and the church, pierced by cannon-balls and bomb-
shells; several cells in the dormitory much damaged ; roofs
broken in, chimneys demolished ; the laundry, dilapidated by
a shell which had burst through the floor of the community.
“ Yet, adds the writer mcoved by her gratitude, our losses
would have been much greater had not eight of our dear
Sisters been courageous enough to remain in the convent
during the siege. Regardless of fatigue, and exposed to be
wounded or killed by the falling projectiles, they were ever
on the watch, and succeeded in saving most of the windows,
the statues, the paintings, the two tabernacles and altar fur-
niture, with other precious articles, which, had they not been
removed, would have been damaged or destroyed.”
As to the aspect of the city after a two month’s siege, let
our readers recall to mind the fact that the Ursuline Con-
vent, the ruinous state of which they have just contemplated,
was one of the edifices that had suffered the least. Six hun-
dred houses were so riddled by shot and shell as to be uninhab-
itable, when they were not totally destroyed. The cathedral,
the seminary, the Bishop’s palace, the Intendant’s, etc., were
in ruins, The residences of the Jesuits, of the Recollets, and
the Hétel-Dieu, had suffered severely. In the Lower Town
SCENES AFTER THE BATTLE OF THE PLAINS 279
but one house had escaped destruction, and blackened, crum-
bling walls were all that remained of that favorite church,
Notre-Dume des Victoires,
It will not be without interest to subjoin here
THe ComMuUNITY IN 1759: or the names and age of the
nuns, who witnessed the events related in the last chapters.
Mothers Marie-Anne Migeon de Bransac of the Nativity,
BAPOPiOt sss isdcsecssisisnseenesceserans buiveb ii evateccets aged 74
Geneviéve Boucher of St. Pierre, Assistant... 83
Marie-Louise Gaillard of the Blessed Virgin, Zelatrix, 62
Frangoise de Hertel of St. Exupere.....csee.sscsseserereese 79
Geneviéve de La Grange of St. Louis....ccccrcsssseseccseee 65
Esther Wheelwright of the Infant Jesus... 62
Marguerite Cloutier of St. MOMiCa.....000cesseeeercecenree 59
Marie-Anne de Boucherville of St. Ignatius............. 63
Marie-Anne Buteau o? St. Agnes...... spasvobsdacvecceaneess . 61
Marie-Charlotte dé Muy of St. Helen !.........ccccveeeee.. 65
Marie-Claire Gaillard of St. Thomas......cccccsccecosecsevece OF
Mary-Dorothy Jeryan of St. Joseph '....0.sscsseccescsvees OF
Madeleine-Geneviéve Perthuis of St. Charies............ 58
Anne-Catherine Petit of St. Stanislaus.........c0sseseecee, SU
Jeanne-Claire Marchand of St. Etienne............scc0r08 40
Mother Marie-Marguerite Davanne of St. Louis de
GROWER C vesisiccd ce Ganssksss cea vabiadessceeeeses canaseaieosdivens
Marie-Elizabeth Richard of St. Augustine..........00.. 38
Marie-Catherine Lagere of St. Gabriel.....secsee seeseveee 40
Marie-Antoinette Poulin of St. Francis .............0000088 36
Geneviéve de Lantagnac of St. Henry.............cs0see00e 36
Angélique de Lantagnac of St. Mary........ ee en0e 00 scores 29
* Marie-Francoise Poulin of St. Anthony......cc0scceeereee 26
Marie Cureux-de-St. Germain of St. Chrysostom....., coe «27
Marie-C. Lefebvre of Ste Genevidve....rcccoccccce, sescevece 26
Marie-Joseph DesRoches of the Angels,....s.0ccccrvee 30
ocecenemepaenioinepetensentenasnatesent shee ne
_ 1—Deceased at the General Hospital, Sept. 14th, 1759.
RRS a i tee
280 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Louise-Frangoise Soupiran of St. Ursula....c..cccsseeeeees
Marie- Madeleine Cureux -de-St. Germain of St.
ABatha ..ccrocecoccrcece secs as deneae seedoveeeceseveceesceses
Charlotte Brassard of St. Clare. deat vovvcededesessacnd
Angélique C. Parisé of St. Fob: db seveseoeess Osevceeceoes eeeneee
Francoise Comparé of St. Francis-Xavier..........ss0000.
‘Marie-Madeleine Massot of St. Francis of Paul...... ones
Marie-Anne Brassard of St. Magdalen............:.c0000e
Lay-Sisters.
Sisters Marguerite Gravel of St. Clement... .......sesseeseseee Aged,
Marie-Anne Racine of the Resurrection......50..eseseeee vee
Marie-Julienne Maufis of St. Andrew........ccccceeeegeeres
Marie-Joseph Gagnon of St. Paul......ccccecsereereee veevees
Marie-Joseph Patendte of St. Francis............+0+6 cisshix
Geneviéve Mimaux of the Presentation,,...,...ceseceers '°
Marie-Jeanne Bédard of St. Hyacinth............cc00. veneee
Elizabeth Le Vasseur of St. Ambrose..........005 sepeasaaes
Rosalie Bedard of St. Francis Regis......csccccscesecssevees
Angélique Toupin of St. Martha,...........ceseeee peoapgreceves
Elizabeth Bédard of St. Denys....... aassessiute dansdodpgueeiis .
Angélique Déry of St. Thecla.......... ..ssseseseseree aagctvecsy
Louise-Gertrude Hamel of St. Anme,...cccccssssesseeseeeees
Total: forty-five.
> *
58
56
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(VLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
BOOK, IIL
UNDER ENGLISH RULE — 1759-1859
CHAPTER I
1759-1763
FOUR YEARS OF ANXIETY AND SUFFERING
THE CONVENT BECOMES A HOSPITAL
In letters written after.the return of our Mothers to their
cloister, they style themselves—and with reason—“ prisoners
of war.” They are uncertain what will be the fate of the
convent or the country. Will they be obliged to go to
France ? Will not the English lose by treaty what they have
gained by conquest? Or will not the French monarch, at
last, come to succor his faithful subjects ?
Our readers have seen what damages the convent had
suffered, Besides these, the farm on the river St. Charles
belonging to the nuns, had been ravaged, and their cattle driven
off; the crops of wheat and hay, destroyed. They had no
fuel for the coming winter; their stock of linen and other
effects which they were accustomed to receive from France,
was exhausted, They could expect no help from their friends
282 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
when the whole country was ruined, In this conjuncture,
Providence raised up protectors for them whence they could
least have expected,
General Murray entering the city as master, had promised
that the religious communities should not be molested, He
paid the Ursulines an early visit, and, from his first interview
with the aged Superior, seems to have conceived for her the
highest esteem. Assuring her of his special protection for
the community, he manifested his wish to occupy a part of
the Convent as a hospital, for the wounded or sick of the
army. |
The proposal was acceded to with a good grace, and imme-
diately workmen were sent in to make the necessary repairs.
Commencing by the church, the only one in the city
that was not in ruins, they had it prepared for divine service
by the 24th of September, Ten days later the sick soldiers
were brought in, several apartments having been put in
readiness, The venerable Superior cheerfully accepted the
duties of her new position, and distributed her nuns through
the various departments of the new hospital. Divine charity
taught the nuns to, banish every other feeling but compassion
from their hearts and to wait upon these strangers, lately
their enemies, as if they saw in each the Saviour himself.
In the mean time the cold season was advancing. The regi-
ment of Highlanders, quartered upon the convent, had their
share in the hard labors imposed upon all the soldiers in pro-
viding the city with fuel. Exposed by the peculiarities of
their costume to suffer severely from the climate, they were
objects of compassion to the good nuns, who set to work
to provide substantial hose “to cover the limbs of the poor
strangers.” On the other hand, the convalescent officers and
soldiers were eager to show their gratitude by rendering
FOUR YEARS OF ANXIETY AND SUFFERING 233
every out-door service in their power, clearing the paths
around the convent from snow, bringing, as far as they were
allowed, burdens of every kind, wood and water, the daily
provisions which were ordered from the commissariat, or from
the baker’s office, The prejudices they had previously enter-
tained, and their opinions of a “ nunnery ” were soon modified
by seeing the humility and real charity with which these
religious accomplished the tasks necessity had imposed upon
them. In Mother Migeon of the Nativity, the Superior,
whose merits and qualifications fitted her for the trying
situation, and in all the sisterhood, they beheld persons to
whom they could not refuse the tribute of the highest esteem,
As to the religious exercises of the military during the
first months of their occupation of the city, we learn from
that echo of the past tradition, that the church of the Ursu-
lines, where the Catholic population of the city assembled
for the holy sacrifice of the Mass, was occupied at other
times for the Anglican rite.
It is easy to conceive with what secret sorrow—if a stronger
word would not better express the sentiment—our Mothers
yielded up their “altars and their shrines,” to those who
professed no respect for either. Doubtless, at such hours, if
forced to leave the choir vacant, not a few took refuge in the |
chapel of the Saints, to pray for those who honored not thé !
Saints. Where the chaplain of the troops resided is not
said; but the nuns’ chaplain, Father Resche, had taken up his
lodgings in the parlor during the siege !; and he continued
1—The same room, the two parts opening by folding doors -into
one, is at the present day one of the apartments occupied by the
chaplain of the Monastery.
284 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
to occupy that apartment. during those difficult times in
order to be at hand whenever his presence might be required.
If the winter was a long and painful one to the Ursulines,
if some of the Sisters sank under fatigue, there were other
causes of suffering besides the labors and inconveniences to
which they were exposed. They knew well that the French
army had not surrendered. The brave ‘chevalier de Lévis had
assembled at Montreal all the forces that remained, determined
to make one more, desperate effort to save the country. De-
scending the river with the first appearance of spring, his inten-
tion was to drive the enemy from Quebec, before their return-
ing vess+s could find a passage through the ice in the gulf, On
the 28th of April, he met the English troops for the second
battle on the Plains. Alas, for good counsel on such occa-
sions! could the all-wise decrees of Divine Providence have
been read beforehand, how much blood, uselessly shed, might
have been spared! Butthe people of Canada could not believe
that their country, discovered, conquered and colonised by
Frenchmen, could be given up by France: and while they
fought
‘¢ For their altars and their fires,
God, and their native Jand,”’
with heroic courage, they never expected to be left alone to
cope with an enemy so powerful.
Three dreadful hours had covered the ground with the
slain. Friend and foe lay in promiscuous heaps on that field
of the dead. The Exzlish troops had been driven back in
disorder, But of what avail was this partial advantage, or
the destruction of lives and property during the following
five days’ siege? Already reinforcements for the English
FOUR YEARS OF ANXIETY AND SUFFERING 285
army were at hand. The first spring vessels were descried
sailing up the channel. If for a moment the intrepid de
Lévis fancied that these were French men-of-war, hastening
to his rescue, he was soon undeceived. The red cross of
England was flying at the imast-head !
Frenchmen, Canadians ! cease your desperate strife. Over-
whelmed by numbers, you may desist without shame; for
you have nobly defended a righteous cause. The fate of
nations is in the hand of God, ana later, when you know
why He denied you victory, you will bless His apparent
rigor and own that “ He doth all things well!”
After that second siege of Quebec was over, our annalist
writes: “It was then, more than ever, that our convent
became a hospital ; with difficulty we found means to retain
lodgings for ourselves.” Hour after hour the wounded
English soldiers were brought in. The spectacle of mangled
and mutilated limbs, of blood and gore, of acute suffering in
all its varied forms, was an appalling one for Ursulines: but
they had already seen what were the dismal effects of war,
and had taken lessons in the dressing of wounds during the
great siege. They found courage in their charity, and con-
tinued their compassionate cares as long as there was occa-
sion for them.
Our annalist—no longer Mother de Muy of St. Helen—
has been too sparing of details, We may form an idea of
what has been omitted by a few lines written at the General
Hospital, after the second battle of the Plains,
“ How depict, says the hospitaliere, the horrors we have
had to see and hear, during the twenty-four hours that the
transit hither lasted, the cries of the dying and the lamenta-
tions of those interested in their fate. A strength more than
fan 3
a ee a
286 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
human is necessary at such a time, to prevent those engaged
in tending such sufferers from sinking under their task.
“ After having dressed more than five hundred patients,
placed on beds obtained from the king’s magazines, there still
remained others unprovided for. Our barns and sheds were
full 0. the wounded, We had in our infirmaries seventy-two
officers, of whom thirty-three died, The amputation of legs
and arms was going on everywhere,
“ The British had taken possession of the Hoétel-Dieu, the
Ursuline Convent and private dwelling-houses, for the
reception of their wounded who were even in greater number
than ours,”
Our annals mark summarily the death of several of the
English soldiers within the Monastery. One of the halls for
the sick had the reputation of being infected with some pes-
tiferous malady, but this did not prevent the nuns from
continuing their charitable attendance,
The community-hall had been assigned to the officers;
beneath it, a similar apartment became the council-chamber,
where General Murray, twice a week, assembled his military
tribunal, The class-rooms, the pupils’ refectory and other
apartments, were transformed into sick-wards for the
soldiers !.
In the mean time, the table of the nuns, as well as the
wants of their guests, continued to be provided for by mili-
tary orders,
On the 8th of September, the capitulation of Montreal,
and the subsequent evacuation of the country by the French
————— in cacneamisipciapeentnpceneiatienaie a acrnemeestonenienenmaerainoet eon eo eT a re eS
1—The precise date of the departure of the military from the
monastery is notregistered: apparently, it was not sooner than the
month of June (1760).
FOUR YEARS OF ANXIETY AND SUFFERING 287
troops sent back to France, accompanied by a great number
of persons of distinction, might well have extinguished the
last ray of hope of ever being reunited to the mother-country.
But not so easily fade the visions which the heart rather
than the fancy pictures, France had not yet ratified the
conquest ; perhaps she never would, and meanwhile, the
farmer repairing his ruined walls and hedges cultivates the
land; the industrious mechanic, poorer than ever, pursues
his daily toil, avoiding as far as possible, ail contact with
the straugers who occupy every post of honor or emolument,
who are stationed at the gates of the city and at the door of
every hall of justice, who monopolize whatever trade and
commerce can be carried on; and who consider themselves,
in all respects, and wish to be treated as the lords of the
land,
Hostilities had at last ceased, and in the calm after so disas-
trous a storm, many of the dispersed families belonging to
the city returned to seek their former habitations. In many
cases they found only a heap of stones and rubbish to mark
the site of their once happy homestead. Our Mothers, remem-
bering the hospitality others had exercised towards them in
the days of their exile, made rvom for several families who,
during the winter, filled all the available apartments of the
monastery and its dependencies. Among the number of
persons who were thus sheltered, the annalist has noted that
“there were several deaths of children and people cf various
ages; the ground near the extern-school served for their
burial. The bodies were removed to the public cemetery
only the following year.”
While our Ursulines were thus exercising charity at the
expense of great inconvenience to themselves, they did not
forget their first and most cherished obligation: during the
288 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
course of the winter (1761-62) they began to take boarders,
| and to open a class of instruction for day-scholars, In the:
4 month of April, a certain number of children being found’
sufficiently prepared, the great act of the first Communion
| took place, under the direction of the indefatigable pastor,
Mr. Recher,
| ) On the same page we find another memorandum, which is
a silent but eloquent comment upon the poverty of the
convent. “In the month of June of this present year, we
A { received in alms from Mr. Montgolfier! Superior of the
Seminary of St. Sulpice at Montreal, forty bushels of wheat,
which has enabled us to sow our land on the river St. Charles.
ie We have thus .iopes of raising a little grain, since the war
| has not robbed us of our farm.”
tl A little further on, we read of the loss of a vessel, on
ia, board of which were a number of Canadian families, going to
f | France. “ Only six persons were saved, This shipwreck has
{ carried affliction and mourning into nearly every family in the
country.” This was the ill-fated Augusta, which, with one
| | hundred and fourteen persons, among whom more than twenty
ae officers of the French nobility and their families, perished
\ on the rocky and inhospitable coast of Cape Breton.
| If the arms of England were fully triumphant in the New
= World, if nearly all North America owned her sway, now
that the French possessions had become hers, the Seven
years’ War had not yet come to a conclusion in Europe.
This unsettled state of affairs beyond the Atlantic was
oe
1—Mr. Montgolfier was charged with the ecclesiastical affairs of
the diocese, and was the presumptive candidate for the vacant See
of Quebec.
<,
tS
i
!
Be,
3
ie
}
7s eh CERRY SH AINE SENG Ne) ARE SO Oa, OS A
FOUR YEARS OF ANXIETY AND SUFFERING 289
watched with intense interest by the brave and loyal Canadian
Frenchmen, who had been compelled to lay down their
arms, but not their hopes! It was only with the news of the
treaty that ratified the conquest, in 1763, that the final act
-of acceptation was made, and with it another more hearty
act of thanksgiving, on being assured that the rights of
religion would be respected, In Quebee, the public expres-
sion of gratitude “for the blessing of peace and the continua-
tion of the Catholic religion” was ordained, and on the
24tn of June a solemn 7'e Dew was chanted in the church
of the Ursulines.
That the hope of a return to the French government was |
only given up at the last moment appears in all the corres-
pondence of the period. Thus, after the treaty, one of our
nuns, writing to our Parisian Ursulines, says: “ I know how
sincerely you have shared the afflictions that have weighed
upon us for several years past. A treaty of peace so long
‘desired, but concluded on terms so contrary to our hopes,
has tilled up the measure of our sorrows. We have felt the
disappointment the more acutely, from having flattered our-
selves so long that the final arrangements would be very
different ; for we could not persuade ourselves that Canada
would be so easily given up, Nothing is left for us but to
adore with submission the impenetrable decrees of the Al-
mighty.” The annals are more reserved in their comments :
they write for posterity and prudently leave all things to be
‘decided by experience. We find merely the following note.
“ On the 24th of May, 1963, a treaty of peace was signed
between the kings of France and of England. Canada remains
to the English. God grant that religion may ever continue
ito flourish !”
19
sie =
ON RN
290 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
CHAPTER II
1760-1775
TRIALS AND CONSOLATIONS
BISHOP BRIAND, THE BOARDING-SCHOOL RE-OPENED
One of the most afflicting dispensations of divine Provi-
dence, from a religious point of view, at this epoch, was the
decease of Bishop de Pontbriand, This occurred at Montreal,
on the 8th of June, 1760. Since the arrival of the eminent
prelate in Canada (1741), he had proved himself in every
way the good pastor, the friend and benefactor, the father of
his people. After the events of the 13th September (1759)
he had followed the French army to Montreal, continuing to
sacrifice whatever remained of his patrimony for the relief of
the poor, He likewise sacrificed his health in the discharge
of his pastoral duties, in cares and solicitude of every kind,
advising, exhorting and encouraging the defenders of, Canada
1a a cause deemed identical with that of religion, Could he
have ended more gloriously his career than by giving up
his life with the last ray of hope for the triumph of that
cause ?
On the other hand, what a critical moment for the Church
of Canada to be deprived of her pastor! The ranks of the
clergy, already thinned by numerous deaths within the
past six or seven years, required to be filled by new ordina-
tions ; but the consecrating hand was still and cold, Religious
communities, so dependent on episcopal authority, shared the
public anxiety and redoubled their prayers. It was not
without good reason, for nothing was farther from the will of
the new government than to give the deceased prelate a suc-
cessor,
Provi-
vas the
yntreal,
minent
1 every
ither of
(1759)
juing to
relief of
scharge
ry kind,
Canada
ould he
ving up
of that
TRIALS AND CONSOLATIONS 291
Our Ursulines had other trials within their own enclosure,
The community had been severely visited by mortality
during that period of alarm and war we have just traversed,
It is not without emotion we read of two good lay-sisters,
whose death in the spring of 1760 is attributed to over-
exertion during the winter in taking care of th» sick soldiers,
There had been fifteen deaths and but nine professions
from 1753 to 1763. The last novice admitted before the
conquest had pronounced her vows in 1758, From that
time the novitiate welcomed no other candidate, an1 finally
remained vacant, Owing to the uncertainty of their own fate,
prudence forbade the nuns to admit any new member to share
the possible eventualities in store for themselves, On the
other hand, amidst the difficulties which, with the English
flag, had settled like an impenetrable and gloomy mist upon
all the face of the country, what tender father and mother
but would have gathered nearer their bosom and held in a
closer embrace the beloved objects of their solicitude ?
It was only in 1766 that the door of the novitiate was
re-opened, It belonged certainly to St. Joseph the special
protector of the convent to lead the way: accordingly it was
on the eve of his feast, the 19th of March, that Miss Cathe-
rine Besancon, daughter of a respectable merchant of Quebec,
received, after her three months’ probation, the white veil
with the name of that holy patron. She was soon joined by
two other young ladies, Miss Marie Joseph Blais of the parish
of St. Pierre, (Montmagny), and Miss Louise Taschereau,
daughter of the Hon. Thomas Taschereau, member of the
Supreme Council of Quebec, and Treasurer of the Marine office.
Miss Taschereau, known in religion as Mother St. Francis.
Xavier, was destined to live long and useful years, as we shall
have occasion to note.
tS
ie)
i)
GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
If the losses and damages the convent had incurred during
the war had reduced the nuns to great poverty, this was
notably aggravated by other causes which affected the coun-
try at large. By the change of government in Canada, all the
paper-money in circulation had become useless; while pro-
perty owned in France was suddenly reduced to one fourth
of its value, with a further discount upon the interest even
of this fraction.
To add to the difficulty, all commerce with France was
prohibited ; yet what credit or facility for business-transac-
tions could the Canadian merchant, if not already ruined,
hope for in London? On the other hand, how many articles
of the first necessity, especially for the church and altar, or
for the apparel of persons living in religious houses, so long
proscribed in Eng'and, were no longer to be found on the list
of English manufactures ?
Obliged by the state of penury to which they were reduced,
to seek some means of subsistance, our Mothers had recourse
in particular, to a delicate species of embroidery, commonly
called bark work. This pretty and novel species of “ painting
with the needle,” in which dyed moose-hair replaces the
usual shades of silk, and the soft, leather-like outer bark of
the white birch-tree is used instead of rich tissues of brocade
or velvet, was much admired and sought for by English
ladies and gentlemen, who had not come over to Canada
with empty purses, At a later date, gilding for the decora-
tion of churches, altars and tabernacles, is mentioned as
bringing in a small profit whereby to avoid contracting debts,
of which our Mothers appear to have ever had a just horror.
An event which served to revive the hopes of the people
and rejoice all who had the true interests of the colony at
heart, was the nomination of M. Jean Olivier Briand, Vicar
ring
was
yun-
the
pro-
urth
even
, was
nsac-
‘ined,
ticles
ar, or
long
e list
uced,
ourse
only
inting
s the
rk of
ocade
glish
anada
cora-
ed as
debts,
orror.
eople
ny at
Vicar
ARRIVAL OF BISHOP BRIAND 293
General, as Bishop of Quebec. This important concession in
favor of the Catholic Church, although implied in the articles
of the capitulation, had not been obtained from the royal
will in England without difficulty and delay. The eminent
prelate returning from France, where he had received the
episcopal consecration, arrived in June, 1766, and was hailed
with joy proportionate to the anxiety with which the reli-
gious population of Canada had watched the long delibera-
tions that had,retarded the fulfilment of their ardent wishes,
In the new Bishop, the community welcomed a former
Superior, and a devoted friend; his new title and powers had
only rendered him doubly paternal. The dilapidated cloister-
walls, the extern school-house, and many other parts of the
monastery, which the poverty of the nuns had uot allowed
them to repair since the siege, quickly drew the attention of
the compassionate prelate. With as much delicacy as generos-
ity, he no sooner discovered their wants than he took
means to relieve them. Often the first intimation of the
proposed repairs would be the sight of workmen, busy
with their tools around the ruins. Like a good father, he
loved to soothe and cheer his daughters in Christ; he de-
lighted to appear at their pious festivals, celebrating
pontifical Mass in their chapel, or presiding, crosier in hand,
at the ceremonies of taking the veil or making profession,
In a word, he availed himself of every opportunity for pro-
moting the welfare, temporal and spiritual, of the community,
At the conclusion of Bishop Briand’s first episcopal visit
of the monastery, a duty of his charge, the annalist rakes
the following record.
“ Our illustrious prelate has just concluded the visitation
of our monastery, in which he proceeded with the greatest
charity and to our entire satisfaction. His exhortation, at
294 GLIMP8ES OF THE MONASTERY
the close, was so consoling and so full of encouragement,
that our hearts were filled with new zeal for our own perfec-
tion and for the glory of God. Notwithstanding the poverty
and miseries of every kind, occasioned by the war, our good
Bishop found the community full of piety and as regular as
ever, So he assured us, wishing us a thousand blessings,
with the grace to preserve in this house to the end of time,
the spirit of our first foundresses, God grant that it may
be so!
Another great consolation was reserved for the Ursulines,
at this period, in the beatification of the foundress of the
Order, St. Angela, The happy event was celebrated with
as many outward demonstrations of joy as if the whole
country had still been under Catholic rule. Nothing was
wanting in the midst of the pious assembly but the éclat
thai would formerly have been added by the presence of a
governor and his brilliant retinue. In place of this, the
nuns record the joy and devotion with which crowds of
people came to implore the protection of the newly crowned
Servant of God, remarking that several persons of dis-
tinction, diseased or infirm, had themselves carried to our
church, in order to manifest openly their confidence in her
intercession.
But the consolation chiefly prized by these Ursulines, so
worthy of their name, was the facility they had found in pur-
suing unmolested the princ‘pal duty of their vocation, the
instruction of youth. We have seen already that no sooner
had the monastery ceased to serve as a hospital than other
occupants were found for the recent sick-wards, “ All
the winter, says the annalist in the spring of 1761, we have
had a certain number of boarders, and as many day-pupils as
TRIALS AND CONSOLATIONS 295
we could accommodate.” The lists of the former show thirty-
seven boarders, among whom English names begin already to
appear,
The number of new names inscribed during the following
year would indicate about fifty pupils. The annals dispel all
doubt on the subject by the following summary remarks in
1775,
‘It has been a great consolation for us, in the midst of so
many difficulties and trials, so see our classes always well
filled, there being often as many as sixty boarders, French
and English, Tre latter are naturally very gentle and docile,
but it is sad not to be allowed to bring them up in our holy
Faith, The day-pupils are numerous, and would be more so
if we had more nuns to teach them.”
To some of our readers, these lines, written with the usual
brevity and candor of our convent-record, have been sug-
gestive, ard they would readily ask what is to be thought
of the accusations so often heard against Catholic popula-
tions, their ignorance, want of enterprise, &c., &c,
Really, it does not appear as if the Canadiens of old, any
more than those of present times, were indifferent to the value
of education. The city has been made desolate by a cruel war,
almost every house is in ruins, the fruit of many years of labor
and economy are gone, for ever; commerce is annihilated, and
every avenue to wealth or emolument obstructed; yet, hardly
has the soldier returned to his ruined homestead and assem-
bled the scattered members of his household, than he enquires
who are those that have not been instructed for their first
Communion, how many cannot read and write, He examines
if these can possibly he spared from home, and straightway
they are despatched to school.
Honor then to them to whom honor is due! Those French
Canadians, we know, manifested more solicitude for the main-
296 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
tenance of their religion and the security of their religious
institutions than for any mere temporal interest. Their atti-
tude during all this trying crisis was such as to elicit the
admiration and sympathy of the English governors them-
selves, when they were men of liberal views and of real
merit,
In fact, it soon began to be apparent to the thoughtful
observers of the times, that the conquest of Canada had been
permitted by divine Providence for the greater safety and
protection of its inhabitants, A letter written by Mother
Marchand of St, Etienne as early as 1767, will serve to
elucidate this point. It is addressed to the Ursulines of Paris.
as follows:
“ The news we have had from France this year, as far as
regards religion, grieves us profoundly, Although expatriated
by the fate of war, our hearts are as French as ever, and this
makes us doubly sensible to the decline of that dear country.
I cannot help saying it is as well to be in Canada, where we
enjoy the greatest tranquillity. We are not in the least
molested on the score of religion, We have a governor who,
by his moderation and benignity, is the delight of every one,
and a bishop who is the joy and consolation of his flock. If
money were not so scarce and every thing so dear, we should
have nothing to desire.” At a later date, Mother St. Louis de
Gonzague writes: ‘‘ Religion is perfectly free at present ; if
any depart from their duty, it is their own fault. People say
that it is not the same in Paris, where religious communities
suffer persecution. We are told that you were even obliged to
celebrate secretly the beatification of our Blessed Mother ~
Angela. We have no such difficulty under the government
of England.”
‘ious
atti-
the
lem -
real
htful
been
and
ther
e to
Paris.
ar as
iated
| this
try.
e we
least
ho,
one,
If
ould
s de
oat
say
ities
d to
ther —
ent
MOTHER MIGEON OF THE NATIVITY 297
CHAPTER III
MOTHER MIGEON OF THE NATIVITY
AND OTHER SUPERIORS DURING TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
The services which Mother Migeon of the Nativity ren-
dered her monastery were not merely of that deep and silent
kind, auorded by the edifying life of every good religious,
Placed at the head of the community in 1735, she became
conspicuous for those qualities most desirable in a superior,
and thus drew repeatedly upon herself, with the confidence
and affection of her Sisters, the burden of authority. Twice
only during a full quarter of a century (1735-1760), was
this beloved Mother allowed a three years’ respite from the
cares of government: this was observing the constitutions to
the letter,
Let us pause a while, dear reader, in the company of one
who merited so large a share in the hearts of her contempora-
ries, and who challenges still the admiration and gratitude of
the virgins of the cloister.
Born in Ville-Marie (Montreal) in 1685, Marie Anne was
the youngest child of Jean Baptiste Migeon de Branzac, Lieu-
tenant General of that city, Her mother, Catherine Gaucher
de Belleville, was one of those truly Christian women whose
example is a more powerful incentive to virtue for all who
depend upon them than would be the most eloquent exhort-
ations, At the approach of that great act of Christian life,
the first Communion, Madame Migeon prepared to resign
her tender charge into the hands of the Ursulines, and sent
her daughter to Quebec, to continue an education com-
menced on so firm a basis in the parental mansion,
298 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
In our classes, Miss Migeon corresponded with alacrity to
the care of her worthy teachers and completed successfully,
in the space of a little less than four years, the course of
studies then taught. Returning to the bosom of her family,
the young lady, “in beauty’s prime,” richly endowed with
those graces and accomplishments the world is sure to prize,
soon had enough of its deceitful admiration to have disturbed
a mind less poised by solid judgment and sincere piety. But
“the figure of this world which passeth away,” whose delusive
light so strangely bewilders some young ladies, dazzled not
_ the eyes of this faithful child of Mary: she was not led away
by the siren voice of pleasure and fashion, Sweeter accents
had already struck her ear, and obeying the call of Jesus,
she sought again the shades of the cloister, ambitious
only to please Him whom she had chosen as the object of
her affections, and willing to spend her life in imparting to
youth the benefits of a Christian education which she felt to
be a treasure above all price.
On the 8th of September, 1722, at the age of seventeen,
Miss Migeon de Branzac received the white veil at the hands
of Messire Jean de la Colombiére, Vicar General of the
diocese, exchanging a name honorable in the world for that
of a mystery in which the whole world may well rejoice, the
Nativity of Mary. Two years later, she pronounced her final
vows with angelic fervor,
One of the first offices confided to the pious Mother of the
Nativity was that of mistress or directress of the boarders,
So great a responsibility seemed overwhelming to our fervent
novice, who felt alarmed in proportion to the humble opinion
she had of her own abilities. Her eagerness to obtain the
aid of Heaven and her self-diffidence led her to solicit
the prayers anu advice of M. de la Colombiére. His reply,
which she ever carefully preserved, we here subjoin, as
MOTHER MIGEON OF THE NATIVITY 299
embodying the duties of an Ursuline of the present day, as
well as it did of those who lived one hundred and fifty
years ago,
‘“‘ Your new employment, my dear Sister, demands patience and
an ever ardent desire of promoting the salvation of souls. It
affords you frequent opportunities of impressing upon the minds
of your youthf :1 charge the nature of the obligations they have
contracted in baptism, and of inspiring them with contempt for
the pomps and vanities of the world. In a word, all the young
girls under your care should strive to become by their piety, the
living images of the most holy Virgin Mary; they should be
actuated by a noble emulation to acquire the virtues of the Queen
of Angels.
Adieu. Love the Blessed Virgin, and lay deep in your own heart
the foundation of every virtue, as you are aware you must aim at
perfection, in order to merit the glory and happiness of being
ranked forever among the true children of Mary.
Ever yours, &c.,
Jos. DE LA COLOMBIERE.”
The office of directress was a light one however, in com-
parison to that of superior, which awaited Mother Mary of
the Nativity for the first time in 1735. Called repeatedly,
as we have already said, to this post of responsibility, she
had celebrated her fiftieth year of religious profession, when
came the trials and sufferings of that memorable year of the
great siege (1759-1760). Yet how calm, how full of energy,
how strong by her trust in divine Providence, how capable
of counselling, directing, and encouraging, appears this
venerable Mother! How attractive her humility and benev-
olence! What delicate propriety marked all her demeanor !
That nameless charm with which the life-long practice of
virtue invests its possessor, was heightened, no doubt, by the
vivacity and wit peculiar to her nation and set off by the
. polish due to intercourse with the best society. To all these
300 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
causes, but above all to the merciful designs of Providence,
must be attributed the influence she exerted over strangers.
and Englishmen, she, a Frenchwoman, who not only pro-
fessed that religion hated and proscribed by their nation,
but who was at the head of an establishment, the very name
of which would, at that day, have raised a cry of horror in
England.
So remarkable was her success in this trying crisis, in
conciliating the good will of the officers of His British
Majesty, yet preserving the rights and property of the con-
vent, that the Bishop thought himself justified in author-
izing an exception to the rules, an exception unique in our
annals. This was to prolong the term of her government
beyond the appointed time for the elections, in order to avoid
any change while as yet so many interests were at stake. To
this measure there was found, it seems, one dissenting
voice ; but it only served to justify the nomination, for it
was that of: the humble and venerable Superior herself,
trembling for the consequences of one deviation from the
regular discipline of the convent.
At the age of four-score years and more, Mother Mary of
the Nativity was still a pillar of regular observance ; her
pen was still as fluent, if not as elegant, as it had been
thirty years previous ; her intellect was as vigorous, and her
piety even more simple and beau... il. It was only at the
age of eighty-five that her strength began to fail her to such
a degree that she became, for the last eighteen months of
her life, quite infirm and helpless, Yet, even to the last, the
bright spirit flagged not. The lamp, borne in the wise virgin’s
hands, was well replenished and burned brightly, giving out
vivid rays of faith, confidence, love and desire, at the wel-
come approach of the Bridegroom. Pure had been the dawn,
and sweet was the close of that long and useful life,
OTHER SUPERIORS AFTER THE CONQUEST 801
Mother La Grange of St. Louis governed the community
from 1741 to 1744. She died in 1776, at the age of eighty-
three, having borne “ the sweet yoke of the Lord” from
the tender age of fifteen. On comparing dates, we are
reminded that Mother St. Louis and Mother Mary of the
Nativity were pupils of Mothers Charlotte Barré of St. Igna-
tius, Mother Bourdon of St. Joseph and St. Agnes, and had
lived many years with those saintiy souls, formed to the
practice of perfection by Venerable Mother Marie de I’ Incar-
nation.
Mother St. Louis is depicted as “ gentle and kind, amiable
in conversation, active and laborious, ready to oblige and
render service, ingenious in finding time to aid the others,
without neglecting the duties of her own office.” Her biogra-
pher tells us of her fervor, her regularity, her confidence
in divine Providence, enumerating the services she rendered
the community, and closes her tribute of affection in those
words : “ The memory of this venerable Mother will ever be
most dear to us.”
We end this Chapter with the name of Mother Boucher
‘de St. Pierre. Judging by the advanced age of several of the
Superiors of the convent when first elected, or the late period
at which they are continued in office, one may easily infer
the great consideration the elders enjoy in the Monastery,
In the present instance, we find that Mother St. Pierre,
-after occupying the second or the third rank, a full quarter
of a century, is called to the superiority at the age of seventy-
four, Our readers have seen elsewhere that this worthy
religious has not been forgotten in the annals of the mon
-astery.
302 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
CHAPTER IV
1775-1785
THE CONVENT DURING THE SIEGE OF 1775
DIFFICULTIES OF SUBSEQUENT YEARS
Again, dear reader, the clarion of war has sounded ;
again the rocky heights of Cape Diamond echce to the shrill
call of military horn and bugle. Not even the ice-bound
river and the snow-buried plain have secured the country
from an invasion, in the name of liberty! But is the
peaceful cloister again to be disturbed, its inmates scattered,
its walls ruined ? We have just perused the narrative Mother
St. Etienne has left of this American invasion of 1775, the
fourth siege the Convent has witnessed 1.
Our readers would find nothing new to them in the details
she gives of that daring attack upon Quebec, except what
regards the convent, and to this we shall mainly confine our-
selves, It would be needless to follow the vicissitudes of
that campaign, begun with the mistaken idea that
Canada would willingly join the American colonies in their
attempt to throw off the Bristish yoke. History has traced
the march of the invading army, which under Montgomery
bore off the British colors from every fort and town in its
path, St. John’s, Chambly, Sorel, Montreal, Three Rivers, till
joining that other hardy band issuing from the woods
on the banks of the river Chaudiére, they hasten on, cheering
loudly as they pause before the gates of Quebec, expecting
to see them thrown open to its deliverers! The issue of that
1—The preceding sieges were those of 1690, 1759 and 1760.
ided ;
shrill
ound
untry
s the
tered,
other
, the
etails
what
_THE CONVENT DURING THE SIEGE OF 1775 303
milnight strife of December, 1775, was written in bloody
characters upon the banks of freshly fallen snow, with the
fate of the gallant but unfortunate Montgomery.
The memory of all this was revived in 1875, by a comme-
morative centennial, We need not dwell upon the winter's
blockade, the arrival in March of an English fleet, bringiag
timely succor to the weary garrison, the tinal evacuation of
Canada by the American forces, We are certain to gratify
our readers more by opening to their view the interior of the
cloister during that six months’ siege.
We shall not find therein a flock of young and timid doves,
to be frightened by the first discharge of artillery. No! many
of these thirty-four professed nuns had been through scenes
that had given them courage and experience. They remem-
bered the two sieges of 1759 and 1760, and trusted them-
selves all the more serenely to the protecting care of divine
Providence. Beyond the walls, along the suburbs of St. Roch,
and in the Intendant’s palace, in full view of the convent,
there were some hundreds of armed men, raising batteries and
pointing cannon upon the town. When these preparations had
been completed the murderous projectiles were scattered like
hail-stones all around the premises, but the inmates did not
appear unused to the smoke and din of war. One of the
nuns, as she was passing through an apartment, had a piece
of her apron carried away by a cannon-ball. It is not related
that she even kept the fragment as a souvenir ! !
Let us hear Mother St. Louis de Gonzague, giving a sum-
mary account of the winter to the Ursulines of Paris :
1—Jt is not uncommon to meet with cannon-balls and bomb-
shells on the convent-grounds. A few years ago, in repairing the roof
of the Sainte-Famille wing (the northern part of the monastery
occupied by the community,) a cannon-ball was found still lodged
804 GLIMPSES OF THE MONAS7ERY
“We would be most ungrateful, says she, if we did not
bless a thousand times the Author of all good, who supports
and consoles His servants in the midst of the different trials
of this life. Your fervent prayers, my dear Mothers, obtained
for us new courage, which transformed us all into heroines,
You are aware we have passed through a six months’ siege.
I leave you to imagine the f-elings of poor nuns in such cir-
cumstances, with the fire of the combat constantly before
their eyes, and threatened at every moment by the bombs
and cannon-balls. The first ball that reached us struck the
infirmary ; another entered the novitiate, breaking the win-
dows and a novice’s bed. We hastened to take out the win-
dow-sashes, and this being perceived by the enemy, they
lowered their guus, Evidently, they did not intend to
harm us.
“ A little later, a ball passed through the church-windows
and struck a neighboring house. The Almighty protected
us, taking pity on poor nuns who have no other part in war
but to suffer its inevitable penalties, However courageous
we may have felt, it must be owned that the situation was
not an agreeable one. To live amid constant alarms, to hear
the hour of battle announced by the tocsin the bells ringing
only on these occasions—to be stunned, night and day, by
the rolliag of drums and the booming of cannon, to have no
place of safety in case of danger, our only vault (which
served as a chapel) being damaged and insecure : all this was
not pleasant.
between the roof and the wall. A bomb was lately found beneath
the choir buried in the earth. It had not exploded, and was still
full of the materials with which it had been sent on its errand of
destruction, whether by the English or by the Americans, we
cannot say.
DIFFICULTIES OF SUBSEQUENT YEARS 805
“ On the 15th December we had our elections, in military
a style, to the sound of guns and cannon !
jals “ Our observances were followed regularly in chapel, in
ned spite of the rigors of the season, All these inconveniences
nes. have not sufficed to injure the health of any one of us
ege. seriously, which certainly seems wonderful. It is true we
cir- had the advantage of being all together, at home, without
fore anxiety for our subsistence, our prudent Dépositaire having
mbes laid in a good store of provisions, which was no small relief
the and aid in supporting the miseries entailed by war.”
win- Oh! we may well say: ‘ There’s no place like home,” since
win- the casualties of war itself can be affronted with intrepidity
they by the aid of mutual sympathy and charity !
d to
After an interval of ten years (1785), if we enquire, how
fares the Convent? we find the nuns yet struggling with
poverty, sharing the difficulties that on all sides weighed
heavily on the country. Governor Haldimand was not the
man to bring order and good feeling out of confusion and
dissatisfaction. To the misery caused by the want of public
confidence, ‘scarcity of money and high rates for merchandise
of every kind, were added other calamities; bad seasons,
poor crops, shipwrecks, and accidents. Even the moral
atmosphere was dark and lowering. Witness the following
extract from a letter written in 1785 to the Ursulines of
Paris :
“ We have reason tO weep in the sight of Heaven over
our poor country, There is liberty, it is true, to profess our
holy religion, but there is little care for living piously or
fulfilling the duties of a Christian, Young girls are not
brought up as carefully as they were formerly, Some of our
20
806 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
pupils, soon after their first Communion, are taken from us,
and before the age of fourteen they are introduced into
society and allowed to go to the theatre. You may easily
imagine the sad results of those dangerous amusements, If I
enter into these details, it is to engage you to offer your
fervent prayers for us and for our poor people.” In another
letter, she writes: “ We hear many complaints of the vanity
and luxwy which are beec1aing prevalent in society; yet there
are many cocd people who persevere faithfully in the path
of duty.”
A difficulty which from year to year embarrassed the
Ursulines as well as every other institution for educa-
tion, was that of procuring French books for the papils, All
direct communications with France had ceased, and printing
was yet on a small scale in Canada, One French bookseller
in Paris was known,.who had a correspondent in London.
Through him, from time to time, the educational establish-
ments here could renew their class-books, but the limited
importation was subject to many inconveniences.
The decline of piety, the difficulties of various kinds
already enumerated and others too long to be detailed here,
had the effect of diminishing the number of boarders towaids
the close of the century, The course of studies became more
and more elementary, and for a great many only extended
to the period of their first Communion.
On the other hand, more and more alarming were the
reports that came from Europe of the growth of infidelity,
irreligion and crime, especially in France, that France which,
to our nuns, was still the beloved mother-country. Already
the suppression of the Jesuits (1773), and that of other reli-
gious. orders in subsequent years, afforded but too evident
proof of the profound depravity of those men who had placed
themselves at the head of the revolutionary movement.
us,
into
usily
If I
your
other
anity
there
path
d the
duca-
All
inting
seller
yndon.
MOTHER WHEELWRIGHT, AND OTHER SUPERIORS 307
Alas, for that ill-fated country! there were days in store
for her people, darker than those which in 1785 ! terrified
the comparatively innocent population of Canada, and of
which we are forcibly reminded, as we revert to that period
of moral darkness, “ the reign of Terror,”
CHAPTER V
1760 - 1793
MOTHER ESTHER WIEELWRIGHT, AND OTHER SUPERIORS
AMICABLE RELATIONS WITH THE ENGLISH GOVERNORS
In 1761 the convent elections placed at the helm Mother
Esther Wheelwright of the Infant Jesus,
A Superior bearing an English name, appearing for the
first time in the community just as English rule is being
inaugurated in Canada, seems a strange coincidence. This
child of providence, whom the reader has recognized as the
Indian captive, had never been forgotten in the home of her
infancy. If the difficulty of communication between the city
of Boston and Quebec at that time prevented the bereaved
parents from satisfying their affection by coming to see their
1—On Sunday the 9th October, 1785, after a night rendered fearful
by gusts of wind, cla, s of thunder and torrents of rain, the morning
was foggy. At about ten o’clock an easterly wind arose, when it
suddenly became as dark as night for some minutes. This was fol-
lowed by a thunder-storm and again by midnight darkness, thus
alternating all the afternoon. People dined by candle-light. Our
nuns sang their Vespers with lights, as they are wont to recite the
evening office. In the different churches of the city, divine Service
had to be suspended.
308 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
daughter, they lost no opportunity of reminding her by letters
and by presents of their tender remembrance. Among these
souvenirs, none surely was so precious as the miniature por-
trait of her beloved Mother which is still preserved in the
convent, !
Nearly fifty years had separated Mother Wheelwright of the
Infant Jesus from her family, when a nephew of hers, having
performed the long journey expressly to see his aunt, was
admitted to visit her within the cloister, On taking leave
of his newly-found relative, Major Wheelwright, regardless
of her objections on the score of her vow of poverty, placed
in her hands a silver fork, spoon and goblet, in the name of
her family,
A few months after our amiable Mother’s re-election in
1764, occurred the golden jubilee of her religious profession,
our church being at that time still open to the public for the
parish offices. According to the aunalist, nothing was wanting
to enhance the solemnity of the féte: the organ, played by
the chaplain, Father Resche, good and devout singing by
the best voices in the community, an eloquent sermon on
the happiness of the religious life. The morning ceremony
concluded with the 7’e Dew, and that of the afternoon with
]—In 1761, the year following her election as Superior, one of
her sister’s sons, Joshua Moody, son of Mary Wheelwright Moody,
visited her. ‘“ One of this sister’s grand-daughters was named
Esther Weeelwright, and to her name-sake the Lady Superior sent
many presents, requesting that she might be entrusted to her care
to be educated in the Convent. Of course, the Puritan parents
were not disposed to gratify her in this respect. Among other
things, she sent by Mr. Moody her own portrait, painted in the
dress of her order. This is still in the family, having been handed
down with the name of Esther from generation to generation.”
Miss ‘C, A. Baker, from whose Zrue Stories of New England Cap-
tives the above has been copied, adds: “ For this information I
am indebted to Mr. Edmund Wheeiwright of Boston, who is about
to publish a history of his family. Cambridge, Mass., 1897.”
ters
hese
por-
the
if the
wing
| was
leave
rdless
laced
me of
ion in
assion,
for the
ating
one of
Moody,
named
ior sent
handed
ration.”
nd Cap-
ation I
is about
MOTHER WHEELWRIGHAT, AND OTHER SUPERIORS 309
the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. These details
show that the usual pious rejoicings on such occasions were
not interrupted by the presence in the country of a hostile
creed, The “ Hind and Panther ” were not growling at each
other, openly at least,
Let the old manuscript we love to refer to tell what
opinion the companions of Mother Esther of the Infant
Jesus had formed of her virtues es a religious, Oh! they are
eloquent in the praising of that “ soul predestined from all
eternity, the beloved of God and man, whose admirable
examples during her lony carcer of sixty-eight years spent
in the service of her Divine Master in this community, have
a more touching language than all that could be written,
“ Endowed with the happiest of dispositions and an excel-
lent constitution, to what a holy use did she not apply these
precious gifts, walking firmly in the path of perfection,
strictly observing the minutest points of the rule, placiug in
this, as she said herself, her joy and consolation, Every thing
that tended to the glory of God inflamed her zeal. What
pains did she not take in instructing young girls, during the
many years she was employed in the teaching department of
the institute! If her extreme gentleness,her grace, her exquisite
politeness, rendered it difficult for her to take upon herself
that tone of authority which is sometimes necessary, she
always succeeded in gaining the esteem, respect and affection
of the pupils, Her qualifications admirably fitted her for the
offices to which she was called in the interior of the monas-
tery, as superior, assistant and mistress of novices, Laborious
at all times, it was particularly during the years of penury
and distress for the conveut that this beloved Mother exerted
her skill in embroidery and fancy work, in order to contribute
to the support of the community. When her sight had become
too feeble to permit her to execute the more delicate labors
$10 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
of the needle, she solicited and obtained leave to do the
mending of the house, displaying in this as much neatness,
economy and amiability as if these articles also were des-
tined to bo admired and purchased, Yet this is not surpris-
ing, for a soul like hers must have been animated by purity
of intention and an interior spirit in all her actions,”
If St. Bernard hesitates not to ascribe the merit of martyr-
dom to the religious life, persevered in to the end with fervor,
what must not be the recompense of this privileged soul,
who sacrificing home and country, devoted herself unreserv-
edly to the ssrvice of her Divine Master, only laying down
the cross with her life, at the age of eighty-four years? “ It
was on the 20th of October, 1780, amid her usual pious aspi-
rations towards Heaven, that our beloved Mother Wheel-
wright of the Infant Jesus ceased to live in this world, to
live for ever with the blessed in heaven, leaving us the legacy
of her virtuous example, and a memory that will be ever
fresh in our grateful hearts. Her ancestors were noble, as the
arms of her family bear witness, but she needed not the illus-
tration of birth or title, to win from all who knew her a will-
ing tribute of love and admiration,”
SL
——
—
\
H|
ai
With the name of Mother Esther of the Infant Jesus, we
naturally associate that of Mother Davanne of St. Louis de’
Gonzague, these two remarkable superiors having filled the
office alternatety during eighteen years (1760-1778), contin-
uing the amicable relations with the new government, com-
menced so auspiciously under Mother Migeon of the Nati-
vity },
1—It may not be uninteresting to insert here a little note written
by Governor Murray to the community, after his return to England.
It shows that if the English General knew how to recognize the
services rendered to the sick and wounded of his army like a
MOTHER WHEELWRIGHT, AND OTHER SUPERIORS 311
he We here find ourselves in presence of a Parisian lady, and
“ at the same ti me we are reminded of a domestic drama stran-
les- ger than fiction, for which we must refer our readers to a
ris- future page, The present must be confined to what regards
rity Mother St, Louis de Gonzague as Superior, recalling some
further instances of the kind feeling with which the Ursu-
‘yr lines were regarded by Governor Carleton later, Lord Dor-
edi chester—and by all his honorable family, as well as by the
sit other officers of His British Maj:sty in Quebec,
go: It is well known that Sir Guy Carleton was a sincere and
own constant friend of the Canadians, Our annalist writing of
«Tt him at the time says, ‘ he is justly beloved by all classes of
people, His mild and paternal administration, his prudence
Aspi- ; ;
ie and benevolence, his personal merits and kindness, have ren-
neel-
d, to ene — a Scie
acy
ever gentleman and a soldier, he could also acknowledge, as delicately
as a lady, a slighter favor.
s the London, April 23rd, 1767.
illus- Lapis,
will- I have received the beautiful articles you had the kindness to
send me. They are certainly most acceptable in themselves, being
the work of skilful and tasteful hands ; but these gifts are especially
precious to me on account of the feeling that has dictated the
3, we offering. It is your esteem and attachment which I consider, and
is de which | value as [ ought. But this new proof of your sentiments
aloes in my regard was not necessary to convince ime that they were
1 the unalterable. During my sojourn in Canada, | had a thousand occa-
sions of appreciating those kind feelings; Iam most sensible to
the honor and it will ever be a pleasure to me to acknowledge the
com- obligation.
. 1 am persuaded you will continue to enjoy the tranquillity and
Nati- happiness you merit: it is the recompense due to your virtues, and
the fruit of your irreproachable life. It is these considerations
that have won for you, Ladies, the esteem and contidence of all who
know you. Continue to enjoy it. For my part, nothing would
give me greater pleasure than to have an opportunity to prove the
high consideration and attachment with which | have the honor to
remain
gland. Yours &c.,
ee Morray.
812 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
dered him dear to all ranks, Long may it please the king to
continue him in office!” adds she with emphasis,
he relations of Lady Carleton with the inmates of the
cloister were most intimate and cordial,
It was through her influence, and at the request of Gov-
ernor Carleton, that the nuns consented to admit as parlor-
boarder, a relative of the family, Mrs. Johnston, while her
husband was absent in London,! The same favor which at
the preseut day is refused to more than one applicant, was
again granted later, (1778) to the widow of Major Carleton,
Lady Anne. This lady, whose fine qualities and rare amiabil-
ity endeared her much to the nuns, became so attached to
them and to her secluded way of living under the convent-
roof, that she would willingly have arranged to make her
situation a permanent one, Unable to obtain this favor she
finally decided to rejoin her family in London, leaving her
quiet apartment with as much regret as the nuns themselves
felt to part with her.
Lady Carleton was, at all times, most gracious and oblig-
ing, bringing her little family to see the nuns, visiting them
first on her arrival and la:t on leaving the country each time
that she had to cross the ocean, On one of these parting
occasions, accompanied by her suite, and by her “ three little
sons, and also her little daughter whom we had not yet seen,”
she presented the Mother Superior with two silver candle-
sticks for the church, The nuns rightly said that a Catholic
could not have been more thoughtful and delicate in the
choice of a parting suuvenir,
1—Mrs. Johnston, as well as Lady Carleton, occupied the apart-
ment that has since become the chaplain’s room. It was then, as
new, beyond the limits of the strict cloister.
MOTHER WHEELWRIGHT, AND OTHER SUPERIORS 313
Praising the Governor’s wise administration, and wishing
that his successor may follow in his footsteps, our annalist
adds : “ He has governed the country with admirable pru-
dence, and given proof of greatness of soul in many critical
moments. He has labored indefatigably to promote the wel-
fare and best interests of the people, treating the Bishop and
clergy with deference and esteem, and suffering no one to be
molested on account of his religion.”
Then with what hearty expressions the same pen records
in 1786 the “ return of my Lord Dorchester, our late Gov-
ernor, to the great joy of the clergy as well as of the people.
He was hailed by a salute of artillery and received by the
troops under arms. My Lady, after suffering much from the
sea-voyage, has arrived in good health with all her family.”
On her first visit to her cloistered friends, Lady Dorchester
signified her desire that her daughter should take lessons in
French and in embroidery from the nuns, Accordingly, with
the authorization of Bishop Briand, the young Countess was
admitted daily for the space of two or three hours, her mother
accompanying her in order to perfect herself in the French
language, and to enjoy the amiable company of the French
teacher, Mother Davanne of St. Louis de Gonzague.
At all times, a visit to the Ursulines seems to have been
a part of the programme of the governor’s reception in
Quebec,
Returning now to our theme after this long digression, we
meet a new Superior in the person of Mother Antoinette
Poulin of St. Francis, Like Mother La Grange of St, Louis,
it was chiefly as dépositaire, during long years of penury
and difficulties of every kind, that Mother St. Francis has
acquired a right to the perpetual gratitude of her community,
aes op rene =e
314 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Much of her voluminous correspondence with the Ursulines
of France having been preserved, we are enabled to enter
into an intimate acquaintance with the amiable Mother, who
from 1760 to 1787 was the visible providence of the Monas-
tery. The clearness and precision of her style, the elevation
of her sentiments, the sensibility of her heart, in turn excite —
our admiration, revealing her character precisely as her bio-
grapher has traced it. We readily understand that “ this
dear Mother was moved with a tender compassion for the
afflicted, being charitable and kind to all. During the twenty-
one years that she was in charge of our temporal affairs,
in times of the greatest difficulty, her economy and fore-
sight were admirable; but her goodness of heart was still
. greater, and of this we were so well persuaded that it
served to moderate the sufferings of that memorable
° period. She was one of the eight courageous Sisters who
remained during the Siege to watch over the Monastery.
She loved the pupils tenderly, and manifested her affection
on every occasion, not only when employed with them
in teaching, but in every office that had the least relation
with that duty, the dearest and most important for an Ursn-
line.” At the age of sixty-five, having filled the measure
of her days and of her merits, Mother St. Francis passed
to a better life (1790),
Mother Brassard of St. Clare held the office of Superior
from 1787 to 1793. In her we recognize a daughter of one
of those ancient and honorable families, fortunately not rare
in Canada, from whose pious ranks the Divine Master loves
, to recruit new laborers for his vineyard. How glorious is
such a distinction! What a treasure of heavenly blessings
he upon the rest of the family, is the sure reward of parents
{ 4 hd
MOTHER WHEELWRIGHT, AND OTHER SUPERIORS 315
who generously give to God the son who was their pride and
stay, or the daughter who above all, was their solace and
their joy. In the present instance, while two sisters conse-
crate their lives to God as Ursulines, six of their brothers
become priests, one of whom endows his country with a new
institution for learning and piety !.
Mother St. Clare is described by her contemporaries as
“one of those rare persons ir whom the solid virtues were
united to distinguished talents, who governed others without
detriment to her own perfection, possessing the secret of
winning the love and respect of her inferiors, maintaining
with an equal hand charity, union and the observance of
the rule. All the virtues shone in her daily life, yet above
them all, her humility was conspicucus.”
It was while Mother Brassard of St. Clare was Superior,
that the Monastery celebrated on the ist of August, 1789,
its 150th Anniversary. The Centenuial had found the church
in all the ‘glow of its fresh completion ; but the last half-cen-
tury had been a rough one, and sume repairs were
required, These had been attended to from the month of
May, in order to perform with “as much splend»v as cir-
cumstances would allow ” the stately ceremonies by which
religion comes to our aid, when we would publicly testify
our gratitude to the Most High. “ We had’ High Mass, say
the annals, benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and a
solemn 7'e Deum, to thank God for all the blessings showered
down upon this house since its foundation, Mgr. de Capse,
1—M. Louis Brassard founded the college of Nicolet in ‘1801.
Marie-Anne Brassard of St. Madeleine entered the Convent in 1755,
being the last to make protession before the conquest. She lived
to 1815, having witnessed the three sieges of Quebec.
316 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
the newly consecrated bishop, kindly offered to officiate }.
Several clergymen, uniting iu our intentions, celebrated Mass
in our chapel. We sang hymns and canticles of joy and grat-
itude, thanking God with all our hearts for preserving our
community from all the woes that seemed to threaten us,
especially when the country had passed under the rule of
Great Britain.” ,
CHAPTER VI
1793 - 1802
SAD ECHOES OF THE FRENCH ‘REVOLUTION
The ties that bound our Ursulines to France were not
only those of kinship and affection, like all the other French
inhabitants of Canada, There was another link peculiar to
their profession: it was the sweet fraternal bond of charity,
by which the members of our dear Lord’s chosen friends cher-
ish each other, in very truth, as brethren and sisters,
In Paris, that centre where the Revolution had established
its stronghold, were two flourishing convents of the order of
St. Ursula. One of these was not only the Alma Mater of all
the convents of the “ Congrégution de Paris” in France, but
it had become, by adoption, the mother-house of the Ursulines
of Quebec. Our readers remember that after the monastery
of Tours had furnished the two pillars of the edifice, in the
1—Mgr Jean Fr. Hubert, on taking the title of Bishop of Quebec
after the decease of Bishop d’Esglis, consecrated his coadjutor M.
Bailly, who bore ‘the title of Bishop of Capse. He never took the
title of Bishop vf Quebec.
SAD ECHOES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 317
persons of Mother Marie de l’Incarnation and Mother St.
Joseph, the greater number of the other devoted nuns from
France have been designated by us as Parisians. In 1682,
the union was consummated by the Ursulines of Quebec
adopting the Constitution of the Ursulines of Paris, During
all this period of a century and a half, the correspondence
had ever been most cordial, sisterly, in every sense of the
word,
Great, then, was the anxiety of the Ursulines of Quehec
for the fate of their beloved sisters in France generally, but
for those of Paris, especially, on account of their greater
danger and the more intimate relations that existed between
that community and ours, “ Fatal and terrible Revolution,
writes the annalist in 1794, which has accumulated woes with-
out number for the Church and for the human race. Initsefforts
to destroy religion it has put an end to the monarchy, led to the
scaffold the king and the most illustrious members of the
royal family, raised aloft the standard of atheism, overthrown
churches and altars, pillaged and profaned the sacred vessels,
massacred the priests, depopulated the cloisters: in a word,
caused so many evils and horrors that my pen would refuse
to retrace them ”
Meanwhile the dismal years of that last decade of the
eighteenth century roll on, bearing distress and bloodshed
froin the frontiers of France through the finest countries of
Europe. Rome is taken; the Holy Father, at the age of
-eighty-one, is a prisoner, an exile, till finally, offering his
life for his flock, the illustrious Pontiff, the Father of the
faithful, closes his eyes in death, a last victim to impiety,
injustice and ambition.
Through all these years which, for good Catholics, for all,
indeed, who had not lost the sense of ordinary humanity,
‘were truly years of bitterness while *they were years of
318 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
suffering for virtue and innocence, what had been the fate of
the Ursulines of Paris ? When all religious orders had been
proscribed by these red-handed revolutionaries, when wear-
ing the monastic habit had been made a crime against
the State, when hundreds of priests, monks, and nuns, had
expiated on the scaffold the offence of being guiltless, had
the Ursulines escaped with impunity ?
The last letter our nuns had received from their dear
sisters, was dated the 18th February, 1791. It was almost
entirely devoted to business-matters, arrears of rent, &c.; for
the Ursulines of Quebec had property in France, now ready
to be engulfed with all other church-property by the torrent
of the Revolution, “ We live in sad times, we are in need of
faith and confidence. I say nothing of our fears... The
public papers will tell you enough, Pray for us, we are much
in need of your prayers,”... Such had been the laconic mes-
sage, in which anxiety and sad forebodings are but too
evident, No further tidings crossed the ocean during eleven
long years,
At last—it was in 1802—an English merchant had brought
out from London a parcel, addressed to the Ursulines of
Quebec, and he called at the convent tc say that it had been
found accidentally, having been forgotten by. the shopkeeper
to whom it had been confided by some French exiles, nine
years previous, The paper was yellow and dust-stained ;
the handwriting, heavy and trembling. The date was
“ January, 13th, 1793,” and was signed “.De Lauge de St.
Augustin, ex-Superior of the Ursulines of the Faubourg
St. Jacques, Paris,” The second bore the signature “ P. de B,
(Picard de Beaucacour) dite de Ste. Cécile.”
Let us quote the touching details of their irreparable mis-
fortunes :
SAD ECHOES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 819
“You have doubtless heard with grief, dear Reverend
Mothers, of the devastation and destruction of all religious
houses in France, Our monastery, which was one of the
best regulated in the kingdom, has not escaped the
common fate. Your compassionate hearts would have bled
to see the cloister-wall broken down, and ourselves forcibly
driven from our peaceful asylum, to seek refuge wherever
we could find some charitable soul to receive us. To our
great regret, we are all scattered. Pity us, dear Mothers,
and beg our Divine Lord to grant us the grace to make a
holy use of the heavy trial he has sent us,
“All the clergy with whom we were acquainted have
disappeared, and it is impossible to discover any one who
may have escaped the massacre of the 24th September, Our
venerable confessor and our two chaplains were certainly
among the victims. I cannot enter into further details, Ask
our dear Lord to give me perfect resignation.” The aged
Mother Superior concludes with these words: “ I recommend
myself to your good prayers as one already dead, for although
my health is pretty good, which seems a miracle considering
my seventy-four years and my cruel situation, I may not be
among the living when this reacbes you. The holy will of
God be done, If I were younger, I think I would accept your
invitation.”
Both letters were devoted in great part to the affairs of our
monastery, Their own misfortunes could not make these
good nuns neglect any precaution in their power to prevent
their Canadian Sisters’ interests from suffering. The indefati-
gable Mother Ste. Saturnine, who had been our dépositaire
in Paris fortwenty years, was now seventy-nine years of age,
and was fast going to her reward, Lodged in a poor little hut,
a few leagues beyond the city walls, she was attended by the
t
320 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
-_ a
devoted sister Ste, Cécile, who had resolved not to quit her,
It is the charitable infirmarian herself who continues :
* Dear Mother Ste, Saturnine is declining rapidly and there
is no hope of her recovery, Although suffering very much,
she is geutle, patient, and resigned to the will of our blessed
Master. Her state is a daily subject of meditation for me, I
beg you to offer your most fervent prayers for her, beloved
Mothers, She often thinks of you, and speaks of her dear
Quebec sisiers, in a manner that shows how much she loves
you, She tells me, if her state allowed her to profit of your
obliging invitation, she would do so with much gratitude, I
share her sentiments: we all share them. What a contrast
between our present position, and the time when we could
make others happy! But, my good Mothers, we must adore
with submission the orders of divine Providence, convinced
that every thing that happens in this world is destined to
contribute to our salvation...”
Let us hasten to the conclusion of the sad drama, The
dear sufferer, so meek beneath the stroke that banished her
from her peaceful cloister in her old age, had gone to a better
life a few days after the date of the letter we have just
quoted, Her charitable companion took refuge with the vener-
able Superior, who finally succeeded in gathering quietly
around her the scattered members of her spiritual family.
It was in their midst that, four years later, her dear soul,
doubly purified by affliction and patience, took its flight
towards heaven. Still the exiled Ursulines continued to sigh
for their cloister, and to watch for an opportunity to return
to the field of their former labors, employing themselves,
meanwhile with joy, in teaching the poor children they
could assemble. But it was not in Paris, that centre of the
revolutionary madness which had overturned both throne and
altar, that so soon could be found a place for the daughters
CONTRASTED SCENES 821
of St, Angela, the avowed apostles of virtue and religion.
One by one the links of that bright chain were broken by
death, till in 1830, there were only two remaining: and, in
1835 1, a traveller from Quebee was introduced to the last
survivor of the Ursulines of Paris. This venerable lady of
eighty-five, still bright in her intellect and clear in her facul-
ties, had been one of the last to make profession in that
noble institution before the fierce tornado of the revolution
had passed, burying so much happiness, so many hopes,
under the ruins of so many sanctuaries * !
CHAPTER VII
1800
CONTRASTED SCENES, IN THE LIFE OF MOTHER DAVANNE OF
ST. LOUIS DE GONZAGUE
On the evening of the third of February, 1800, one who
might have entered the silent chapel of the Ursuline Convent, \
at a quarter to six, would have found it, as is usual at that
hour, vacant and in obscurity, save the one starry light
gleaming before the tabernacle, announcing the MASTER’s
PRESENCE there. But, no! another glance shows the kneeling
1—The Very Rev. Thomas Maguire, V. G. of the diocese of
‘Quebec, and chaplain of the Ursulines.
2—In 1806, an Imperial decree authorized the Ursulines to
assemble in communities, but failed tc restore to them their con-
vents and property of which the Revolution had despoiled them.
In 1810 the Ursulines of Paris were living at Puteaux, near Neuilly.
In 1828, the few survivors were lodged in Vaugirard street, Fau-
bourg St. Germain. Finally, in 1835, only one, Mother St. Angela,
remained, as is stated above.
21
$22 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
form of an aged nun, and by her side a diminutive lantern,
whose tiny flame might barely serve to guide her footsteps
in the dark of early mornings, or when the evening bell rings
the call to prayer. At this unwonted hour for a visit to the
chapel, Mother Davanne of St. Louis de Gonzague only
remains a few moments in silent adoration and rises to retire.
As she mouits the stairs that lead to the community-hall,
she is met by a smiling band and escorted as in triumph,
The double door oj;ening wide discovers all the sister-
hood assembled, waiting to greet the venerable Mother, who,
for eight days yast, has been in retreat, preparing to renew
in the fervor of her first profession those vows she pronounced
sixty years ago. How joyous is each beaming countenance
in this family-circle, wherein presides, in sweet maternal
dignity, Mother Marchand of St, Ursula, and where are so
many others, whose names are still familiar in the commu-
nity: Mothers Panet of St, Bernard and St. James, Dubé of
St. Ignatius, Berthelot of St. Joseph, La Ferriére of Ste.
Marie, and others, Here also, for this occasion, are the ami-
able white-veiled novices, and among them Sisters McLaugh-
lin of St. Henry and Dougherty of St. Augustine, With
what fervor Mother Giroux des Anges has entoned that
soul-thrilling chant : “ KCCE QUAM BONUM,” in which she is
joined by the choir, in accents that make us realize indeed,
how “ gocd and pleasant a thing it is to dwell together in
unity ;
This is but the prelude of the morrow’s celebration, when
the more sacred and solemn part of the feast being over, this
most amiable and beloved Mother will again be the object of
all the demonstrations of joy and affection which it has been
possible for grateful hearts to invent,
The decorations of the hall are already complete. The
figure 60, traced in flowers and lighted tapers, crowns the
{”
CONTRASTED SCENES 323
honored NAME, equally glowing and conspicuous ; the carpeted
steps of the throne over which a delicate canopy is suspended ;
the gay banners inscribed with mottoes, the fragrant ever-
greens, hung with lamps, and blossoming in spite of nature
and the rude season ; the moss-grown seats and gay parterre,
where to-morrow nymphs and maidens will vocalize in
joyous groups: every thing is expressive of the kind feeling
that prompts these innocent festivities, Nor song, nor poem,
nor enthusiastic address, nor ingenious device, will be
wanting.
Mother Superior herself has arranged the programme; the
Bishop elect will preside ; a numerous clergy after celebrating
the sacred Mysteries to call down new graces on this beloved
senior of the community will be there,
But dear reader, instead of awaiting the varied entertain-
ment, let us turn to scenes far different from these, yet
scenes in which the convent heroine of this 4th of February,
1800, had a deep and sometimes a most painful part.
A domestic drama, we have said on another page, is con-
nected with the dear name of Mother Davanne of St. Louis
de Gonzague, Its commencement leads us away to Paris,
that gay, fascinating, fickle, and often perilous Capital, of
which Frenchmen are nevertheless so proud. There, in
1719, Marie Marguérite Davanne was born of respectable
and wealthy parents, and there she passed the first years of
her childhood,
Some commercial transaction in which Mr, Davanne was
engaged, entailed the ruin of his fortune, and induced him,
with the little he had saved from the wreck of his hopes, to.
seek the shores of Canada, Bringing his family with him,
he tixed his residence at the Lower Town, Quebec. The late:
Parisian bankrupt. was active and enterprising, his business.
$24 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
prospered, and in a short time he had repaired his losses suf-
ficiently to enable him to live as comfortably as_ before,
Unfortunately, the passion of getting rich induced him to
risk again in some speculation all he had acquired, The
enterprise failing, again he lost all, This time, he resolved
to try his fortune unattended by his family and embarked for
the East Indies, Mrs, Davanne had, apparently, a moderate
pension of her own; at all events, she was powerless to dis-
suade her husband from that long sea-voyage, destined to be
so fatal to the happiness of both. Bidding adieu to his wife
and children for a year, the insolvent merchant lightly step-
ped on board ; the good ship weighed anchor and, spreading
her sails, soon lost sight of the clustering houses of the Lower
Town, that spot which contained all that the voyager held
most dear,
We know not to which party that year seemed longest ;
but no news from either side once broke its tediousness,
Another aud another year passed by, and yet no news of
ship or traveller reached Quebec. Anxious and desponding,
the unhappy woman resolved to return to France; there, at
least, she might obtain some tidings of the tragical end of
her husband whom already she firmly believed to be lost,
Marie-Marguérite, then about eigeteen years of age, had been
at the convent-school the greater part of the time since the
arrival of the'family in Quebec. She had meditated her con-
secration to God, and now, in the alternative of leaving the
country, she threw herself at her mother’s feet, begging leave
to rejoin her beloved teachers and to make the monastery
her future home.
Mis. Davanne could not refuse her consent, and adding
this new sacrifice to the others, came with her daughter to
demand her admission and arrange for her entry. Unable to
pay the accustomed dowry in full, Mrs, Davanne offered what
CONTRASTED SCENES $25
she could spare, and leaving her own portrait as the dearest
souvenir to her beloved child, she bade her the last farewell,
promising to write on her arrival in Paris, but uncertain
whether or not she would ever return to Canada, In Paris,
neither the family nor friends of Mr, Davanne had heard of
him, His fate was a mystery, but the length of time he
had been absent was sufficient to confirm Mrs, Davanne’s
fears of the worst; doubtless he had perished. Friends,
with officious kindness, surround the supposed widow, who
was still young and rich in that most dangerous of gifts,
personal attractions, They finally persuaded her that it
would not only be right to accept, but that it would be folly
for her to refuse, the offers of the rich Parisian who awaited
her hand, The unfortunate lady pronounced the fatal word
of consent, and the marriage was celebrated. Scarcely had
the echo of the brilliant wedding passed away than a vague
and suspicious rumor began to circulate. In a brief space
it changed to certainty: Mr, Davanne was still living !
He had been shipwrecked in his voyage from Quebec, but
not lost nor discouraged. With that indomitable energy
which characterized him, he had pursued his plans and found
means to retrieve his ruined fortune, He had written many
times to his family, but by some fatality no letter had reached
its destination. Informed of his wife’s return to Paris, just
as he was -n the point of leaving India, he determined to be
himself the messenger of a brighter future; when on a
sudden he heard the fatal news of the marriage she had just
contracted.
Taking counsel ~nly of his disappointment and the fury
inspired by the supposed outrage, he hastens to lay the case
in the blackest colors before the tribunals of justice. The
hapless victim of her own imprudence, more guilty before
326 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
the law than before her own conscience, is condemned to
perpetual seclusion...
While we hesitate to decide which of the two unfortunates
is more to be pitied, let us return to their well-beloved daugh-
ter who, in the peaceful cloister where she is daily making
new progress in perfection, is far from presaging the terrible
storm that has burst over heads so dear, or the pitiless stroke
that is awaiting her own innucent heart.
One afternoon, a parcel of letters from France is opened
at the Mother Superior’s room, Among the different addresses
is the name of Mlle Marie-Marguerite Davanne. Mother
Migeon of the Nativity sends for the dear novice, whose
anxiety to hear from her mother all knew and shared. They
commenced reading the letter together, but as the terrible
truth, at first not fully realized, begins to be understood, a
convulsive trembling seizes the frame of that unfortunate
child of most unhappy parents. The troubled heart refusing
the bitter draught, the limbs relax and the semblance of death
ensues. Oh! well might the first tidings of such an excess
of misery overcome the fortitude of one so unprepared for
grief !
When recovered from her faint, she feels the solace of
the sympathy, sincere 4d enlighteaed, which surrounds her ;
yet the following day told what had been the interior struggle
in the acceptance of that cup bitterer than death itself. The
young novice who, on retiring to her cell that night, had lifted
her veil from a head as dark as the raven’s wing, rose next
morning with the silvery crown old age is wont to bestow:
such was the edfect of that one night cf sorrow !
We need not ask what had been her reflections... In
after years, she was often heard to say: “ It was at the age
of twenty-one that I began to truly appreciate the happiness
CONTRASTED SCENES $27
of the religious state,” Yes! henceforth she new the treach-
erous fragility of the dearest earthly ties, and spurning every
thing that savored of the world, she aspired to nothing less
than the most intimate friendship with that Ong Heart that
does not change, but ever overflows with tenderness for each
one of us his creatures.
The long career of Mother Davanne de St. Louis de Gon-
zague extanded to the eighty-second year of her age, and was
full of good works and of merit in the sight of Heaven, She
preserved to the end the perfect use of her faculties, the fresh-
ness of her youthful piety and fervor, the cheerfulness and
amiability which had made her life a perpetual sunshine
in the midst of her Sisters.
I? the portrait of Maduiae Davanne ! has been preserved
in the Monastery to the presevt day, it is not surprising
that the hand of tradition has seized upon the most salient
traits of the daughter’s picture to present them to posterity.
According to this tradition, Mother St. Louis de Gonzague
was the beaw idéal of all that is most charming in a woraan :
a dignified and agreeable stature, an easy carriage, with every
grace of manners and speech; an intellectual face, of which
if the chisel found therein a faultless model, the artist might
despair to render the expression, combining meekness, benev-
olence, a tender compassion for every human woe and an
ardent love of God.
1—The portrait of Madame Davanne, an oil-painting of merit,
represents her in her youth, habited in a Greek costume : the painter
by giving her a palm, has transformed the lovely maiden into a
St. Catherine. It was a device not uncommon in the 18th cenvury,
as a means of enabling a family-portrait to be preserved by one who
had entered a convent.
828 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Besides this portrait of the exterior, another more prized
has been preserved, telling of faithfulness to grace, zeal for
the glory of God and the good of souls, of the manifold
duties of the religious life accomplished witl. a pure intention
in the sight of Heaven, regardless of personal satisfaction or
comfort, during that long and useful career, The gratitude
of the community is particularly due to Mother St. Louis de
Gonzague for the fifteen years of her administration as
superior; for the courage she displayed at the epoch of the
siege of 1759, when with a little band she remained to guard
the convent from utter devastation ; for her arduous labors
in the other offices, in all of which her prudence and charity,
with a boundless love for her community, were most con-
spicuous,
One day the whole household was assembled around
the aged and beloved Mother, ; we have seen, to congrat-
ulate her on the tenth anniversary of her golden Jubilee.
Among the poems on that occasion there was one in the form
of an.enigma, that describes, in another light, Mother St.
Louis de Gonzague: with this little poem we shall conclude.
this brief sketch of her life and character, It is entitled
THE PIOUS SECRET
On earth to live all creatures try ;
For me, I only seek to die.
Trials and sufferings I endure,
And thus from evil keep me pure :
The greatest enemy I know,
Is self,—that is my real foe.
Death waits for wortals at life’s end ;
For me, I die each day I spend.
Although my soul endures the while,
Imprisoned in the body vile,
She loves to lift her pinions high,
And sail unfettered to the sky.
SUPERIORS OF THE 19TH CENTURY 329
To God my all I gladly give !
I live—no, ’tis not [ that live ;
It is—but I too much have told,
The secret you may well unfold !
Guess what it is. Well, have you said?
Do tell us, if all doubts have fled.
Have you divined ?—‘ O yes, ’tis clear,
It is a soul to Heaven most dear,
Some saint, perhaps.’ You're on the road ;
One trial more, you'll have it good.
Never enigma was so plain.
Come, Reverend Mother, try again !
—Truly, my patience can no longer wait.
It is Yourser !—the portrait is no feint.
(From the French of Father Guapion, S. J.)
CHAPTER VIII
1793 - 1818
‘SUPERIORS IN THE EARLY PART OF THE 19TH CENTURY
MOTHERS ST. URSULA AND ST. FRANCIS XAVIER
From the closing years cf the last century up to the date
of 1839, we meet the names of six Superiors, of whom one,
a contemporary of all the others, the beloved and venerated
Mother St. Gabriel, was happily living till 1888, having
attained the age of ninety-two years, when she confided the
chain of tradition with affectionate care to the keeping of
those who are destined to preserve it strong and bright, even
as it now lies within our grasp.
It is a goodly and cheering picture to bring before us
the leading traits that distinguished these worthy Mothers,
330 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
the three last, Mothers St. Henry, St. Andrew and St. Gabriel
being of our own day: their countenance, equally humble,
mind and serene; the smile that told of a heart overflowing
with charity; the truly maternal care and foresight that
forgot no one and overlooked no want; the encouraging
spur of a living rule which their lives ever offered, while
they were for us the oracles of God, declaring to us from day
to day His holy will in our regard.
The most distant figure of the group is Mother Taschereau
of St. Francis Xavier, first called to the superiority in 1793,
and re-elected at various periods till she had governed fifteen
years,
Mother Marchand of St. Ursula, charged in 1799 by the
unanimous voice of her Sisters to succeed Mother St. Francis
Xavizr, opens the century under the happiest auspices, The
names of both these worthy Mothers, ever held in veneration
among us, are synonymous with all that is most honorable
in family descent, in amiable qualities and natural abilities, as
well as with all that is most edifiying and exemplary in the
life of a holy religious.
Mother St. Ursula, known in the world as Miss Marie
Marguerite Marchand, was a native of Verchéres, and a
descendant of the de Boucherville family by her mother
Marguerite Boucher de Niverville. While yet a novice
under the excellent training of Mother Davanne of St, Louis
de Gonzague, she gave evidence of that maturity of judg-
ment and those inestimable qualities of the mind and heart
which rendered her so precious to the community, whether
in the noble function of teacher, or in the other offices to
which she was occasionally appointed.
The annals, deploring her premature loss in 1815, depict
her as one of the pillars of the monastery.
MOTHER ST. URSULA, SUPERIOR 331
“ In this incomparable Mother, says the writer, we had a
Superior who in her government gave universal satisfaction.
Noble and generous in mind, prepossessing in manners, as
capable for business as she was amiable and cheerful in
conversation, her agreeable and expressive countenance was
the exact index of her soul. Her piety was solid and
enlightened, her gentleness unfailing, her courage magnan-
imous. Mother St. Ursula had just been re-elected as
superior for the fourth time, when she was attacked by that
cruel malady, inflammatory rheumatism, During nine
weeks, she had hardly a moment’s respite from multiplied
and intense sufferings. Thus she became a living copy of
her patroness, St. Ursula, meriting by her invincible patience
to be associated to the Martyr’s crown.”
Neither the best medical attendance nor the sympathy of
friends of every rank, who united their prayers to those of
the afflicted community, was sufficient to arrest or delay the
progress of the cruel malady. Among the many kind letters
addressed to the dear sufferer, there was one which she
requested to hear again and again, It was from the celebrated
Abbe de Calonne, who was then residing at Three Rivers,
The letter has been carefully preserved, and is so replete with
Christian consolation and encouragement that we have
thought fit to transcribe a few lines,
After testifying the liveliest interest in the recovery of the
venerable patient, the Abbé exclaims: “ Ah! how few per-
sons there are who understand practically the value of suffer-
ings! It is when Jesus visits us with the cross that we are
sure of being agreeable to Him. The Feet of Jesus nailed to
that cruel Wood during three hours sufficed for the conversion
of the universe ; these same Feet employed during three years
in bearing in every direction, light and instruction, gained
332 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
only five hundred disciples. It is not he who labors most
for the glory of God, nor he that receives the most favors
that is the holiest, but he who is the most crucified; in
proof whereof behold the Blessed Virgin. To suffer in
silence for Jesus amidst crosses, anguish and humiliations,
oh, that is being truly like unto Jesus! There is nothing
greater, holier or more to be desired,”
So well did our beloved Mother St. Ursula understand and
put in practice this doctrine, that it pleased the Almighty to
bestow upon her the grace of a complete resignation to the
will of God, a cheerful intrepidity in the view of her approach-
ing dissolution, the exercise of a lively faith in the reception
of the last sacraments, and, finally, a calm and peaceful exit
from this world with the firm assurance of a better. Mother
St. Ursula was the third Superior whose decease in that office
had plunged the community into grief. She was but sixty-
one years of age, forty-five of which had been devoted to the
service of God within the cloister.
Mother Marie Anne Taschereau of St. Francis Xavier was
enjoying the repose of comparative obscurity after guiding
the community twelve years, when she was elected again at
the age of seventy-one, to replace the much lamented Mother
St. Ursula, The following year a Golden Jubilee, celebrating
the half-century’s services of the “ admirable Mother,” afforded
the inmates of the Monastery an opportunity of manifesting
their sentiments of love and gratitude, leaving a pleasant and
enduring impression in the minds of all who shared the fes-
tivities,
But there are other memories to be collected here around
the beloved and honored name of Mother Marie Anne Louise
Taschereau of St, Francis Xavier.
MISS TASCHEREAU ENTERS THE CONVENT 833
At the tender age of five, the little daughter of the Hon,
‘Thomas Jacques Taschereau, first crossed the threshold of
the convent, her dark eyes sparkling with joy as she glided
from her loving mother’s arms to those of the good nuns.
Holidays came often and lasted long while the little pupil
was under ten yearsof age. Then came the days preparatory
to first Communion, when dolls and noisy games are joyfully
relinquished for the sake of the sweet, yet sublime lessons
contained in that unpretending little volume, the catechism,
The teachers of Mary Anne remarked with delight the
unfolding of the precious germs of future excellence, as that
young heart opened to the influence of grace under their
careful guidance.
At the age of fifteen, Miss Taschereau rejoined the family
circle definitively. It was the year of the Cession. If the
gaieties of city-life were for a while banished from Quebec,
they returned with the first dawn of peace, and they were by
no means despised by this young lady. During three or
four years, she lost no opportunity of sharing the pleasures
the world offers its votaries, yet, like many others, failed to
find in them the happiness they so loudly promise, The
grace of a special call to abandon the world was in reserve
for her: it was heard during the exercises of the novena of
St. Francis Xavier, which, a century ago, was celebrated in
Quebec at the beginuing of Lent, with as much zeal as at
the present day.
While an eloquent preacher of the Society of Jesus, was
unfolding with lucidity the sacred text, many a sinner beat
his breast with holy compunction, and even among the just
was heard the inquiry: “ What shall I do to become more
pleasing to God?” One, at least,in that assembly heard in
her heart the Saviour’s answer, containing the evangelical
834 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
counsels of perfection: “Go, sell what thou hast and dis-
tribute thy goods to the poor: then, come and follow me that
thou mayst have a great reward in Heaven.”
Docile to the proffered grace, and fortified by the approval
of the director of her conscience, Miss Tascherean sought
to excute her pious project with as little delay as possible,
A few weeks only after the novena, all her preparations
were accomplished, Regarding the monastery as the ark of
her salvation, she quit the world and all she held most dear
with a courageous heart and a holy intrepidity, which could
have been inspired only by the Holy Ghost.
“ Never was there a more fervent candidate for the white
veil, She desired to bear the name of St, Francis Xavier,
having received the grace of her vocation through his inter-
cession. From that moment, she adopted the great Apostle
of the Indies as the model of her own ardor in the service of
God. In these admirable dispositions she embraced all the
practices of the religious life, and seemed to fly rather than
to walk in the ways of perfection, advancing from virtue to
virtue with undeviating perseverance. Naturally ardent and
impetuous, her first attention was given to moderating her
too great vivacity, and to acquiring the virtues of meekness
and humility, By vigilance and prayer she soon obtained a
complete victory over herself, thus rendering her soul most
agreeable to the heavenly Bridegroom who had chosen her
for his spouse.
Mother St, Xavier was particulary happy in forming to
virtue the young persons confided to her care for their
education. Her talents, as well as her inclination, fitted her
in a special manner for the important charge of teacher, and
for many years her zeal found an ample field for exertion in
that department.
MOTHER TASCHEREAU OF ST. FR. XAVIER, SUPERIOR 335
During thirty years, she occupied alternately the office of
superior and depositary. In both she was a model which
her successors would esteem themselves happy to imitate.
As superior, she was zealous in preserving the primitive
spirit of simplicity, poverty, and retirement watchful to
maintain the observance of the rule even in its minutest
points; attentive to procure the advancement of each
member of the community in the solid virtues of humility
and charity. Thus did our worthy Mother St. Francis
Xavier prove that her vocation was truly from above, her
life tending, as our constitutions demand, “ to the glory of
God, the salvation of her own soul, and the good of the
community.”
At the age of eighty-two, this venerable Mother was still
one of the first to quit her cell at the early hour of rising and
hasten to cast herself at the foot of the tabernacle in prayer,
The crown of age rested so lightly upon her brow that it
seemed an ornament rather than a burden, and the com-
munity hoped to enjoy the precious advantage of her coun-
sels and example many years longer, when in March,
1825, an epidemic affection of the lungs laid her prostrate.
In the space of a few days, severing the tender ties that
bound her to her family of the cloister, she was reunited
forever to that dearer home-circle in heaven, where separa-
tions are unknown }.
1—Mother St. Xavier’s brother, the Hon. G. E. Taschereau,
Seignior of La Beauce, father of the two Hon. Judges Taschereau,
and grandfather of His Eminence Cardinal Taschereau, was a signal
benefactor of the Ursulines by the care he bestowed upon their
temporal affairs.
336 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
CHAPTER IX
GRACE STRONGER THAN NATURE
VOCATION OF THE MISSES BERTHELOT
The human heart is a spiritual battlefield, where grace
and nature are in daily contact, each striving to obtain the
mastery of that stronghold, the will, Happy the soul that,
watchful for the moment when the decisive blow is to be
cast, calls on Heaven for succor and assures her salvation by
rendering grace victorious,
Such is the reflection that will naturally strike the reader’s
mind, as it has our own, on witnessing the triumph of divine
grace in the vocation of the Misses Berthelot. By the prom-
inent position of their family in the city of Quebec, these
young ladies were much exposed to be led away by the friv-
olous pleasures and vanities of the world.
Julia and her sister Teresa, one year older than herself,
were inseparable companions, whether in the convent as
school-girls, or in society. Moreover, in the family circle, the
ties of nature and affection were knit so closely, the enjoy-
ments were so real and each member seemed so necessary to
the happiness of the others, that no thought of a separation
seemed admissible. The two sisters were certainly pious
and edifying, yet they disdained neither the fashions nor
the gaieties of the world, One evening, or morning rather,
as they were returning from a ball, their carriage drove past
the convent, just as the bell rang out its early call at four
o'clock, The nuns were rising to offer to God the matin
tribute of prayer and praise; the peace of their souls was
GRACE STRONGER THAN NATURE 337
—_—_— —_——
undisturbed by idle regrets for baffled schemes of vanity, or
aching remorse for stifling the voice of conscience,
“ Would to Heaven, thought Julia, that my own heart
were as free and pure!” The carriage had paused at the
door of the rich merchant’s aristocratic residence, The two
young ladies alighted, and mounted to their perfumed dress-
ing-room; but before retiring to rest, the youngest of the
two sisters had cast herself upon her knees, and offered her-
self to God for a better purpose than had hitherto engaged
her thoughts.
A few days later, it was discovered that Julia had serious
thoughts of embracing the religious life, For the first time,
the two sisters were of different minds, Teresa could see
nothing but folly in the project of renouncing the world and
immuring one’s self in the cloister. The “ belle ” of Quebec
would certainly not follow her sister's example, nor throw
aside her jewels, her lace, her wreaths of flowers, for the robe
of serge, the linen head-dress and black veil of a nun, “ Pro-
mise me, papa, she cries, that you will never consent to see
me enter a convent, Should I ever be so infatuated as to
desire it, like my sister Julia, do you at least preserve me
from such madness,”
Mr. Berthelot willingly gave his word. His own share in
the sacrifice of his younger daughter was quite enough, he
thought, and he knew the heavenly gates are not made to
open exclusively on the inmates of a cloister.
The two sisters were together at the convent-parlor when
Julia demanded to be received among the daughters of St.
Ursula, The nuns were unprepared to think that either of the
young ladies was destined for the religious life. Both were
dressed in the height of the fashion, in rustling silks, over
which was worn an apron, or over-skirt, as it would now be
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termed, of finest lawn bordered with the costliest valencien-
nes ; their head-dress was interwoven with flowers that trem-
bled on stems of silver and gold: their whole attire was of
the utmost elegance.
Mother St. Clare, who was Superior at the time (1789),
not contenting herself with objections drawn from the obliga-
tion to give up one’s will, to practise mortification, to live
in poverty, and in conformity to the rule, sought to try the
vocation of the candidate by ocular demonstration, Sending
to the wash-room for one of the coarse hempen aprons in use
there down to the present day, she displayed the article to
her visitors, warning Miss Julia that if she became a nun,
she would be required to wear a similar one and to aid in
the rough labor it seemed to typify }.
All this was not enough to alarm a generous heart. Julia
entered the novitiate, leaving her sister to meditate on the
wonders wrought by divine grace.
But another wonder was preparing. Like the youthful
Gerard, who complained that his share was not equal to that
of his brothers when they had abandoned the whole paternal
domain to him, choosing heaven for their portion, so Teresa
felt herself in the wrong in preferring wordly pleasures to the
service of God. The day came when repenting of the opposi-
tion she had shown to her sister’s vocation, she was ready to:
beg on bended knees that her father would forget the prom-
ise she had once exacted of him. But Mr, Berthelot had
1—It is only of late years, since the labors of teaching have
become multiplied, that the choir-nuns have ceased to aid in the
wash-room. ‘lhe writer of these pages remembers well having had
her fingers aching and bleeding by the over generous use of the
same wash-board, perhaps, that had served in the time of these
ancient Mothers.
nciel-
_trem-
vas of
L789),
obliga-
to live
try the
ending
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ticle to
a nun,
) aid in
. dulia
on the
outhful
to that
aternal
Teresa
s to the
opposi-
eady to
prom-
lot had
ing have
id in the
ving had
se of the
of these
GRACE STRONGER THAN NATURE 339
not pledged his word to release himself from it so easily. For
fully twelve months, Teresa expiated the rash precaution she
had taken to prevent herself from becoming a nun. In after-
times, she used to relate the story of her self-imposed troub-
les, always declaring that she only found the treatment she
merited,
The two sisters, thus reunited after a brief separation, had
the consolation of witnessing each other’s progress in virtue
and enjoying each other’s society in the House of God during
nearly forty years.
Mother St. Francis was slight and delicate in figure, natu-
rally gentle, affable, and exquisitely polite, The fulleulogium
given by the annalist, and the regrets of the community,
when a peaceful, happy death deprived the house of a useful
and most edifying member, do not surprise us.
As to Mother St. Joseph, who was Superior from 1824 to
1827, and who lived till 1846, no one who knew her will
fail to remember her as the type of the lady, refined, ami-
able, and gentle in word and manner, “ Her piety was accom-
panied by that simplicity which is the result of a child-like
confidence in God, at the same time that it proved the calm-
ness and innocence of her soul, Her favorite virtue was
humility ; her constant aim, to conform herself to the will of
others, revering in the voice of her superiors that of God
Himself. In whatever office she was employed, she regarded
herself as happy in: fulfilling her duty for the glory of God
and the good of souls.”
It was during the superiority of Mother St. Joseph (1826)
that the Ursulines of Quebec opened, with the recently estab-
lished convent of their Order in Waterford, Ireland, a cor-
respondence which extended even to the pupils. It resulted
340 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
in an intimate interchange of good offices, a union of heart
and purpose which have been a source of mutual edification
and interest during half a century.
“ During the last two years of her life, this dear Mother
seemed to have death ever before her eyes, In the conviction
of her approaching end, she redoubled her fervor and her
austerities, seeking occasion to impose upon herself new
sacrifices. She was preparing to celebrate her golden Jubilee,
which would occur on the 2nd of February, when, about a
month previous, she fell ill of the typhoid fever, A few days
of sutfering borne with exemplary patience sufficed to break
the slender thread of life, ensuring her pure soul the pos-
session of that Eternal Good for which she had long labored
and sighed, It was on the 5th of January, 1842.”
The dear Waterford Nuns could only be warned by the
spring vessels that our much esteemed Mother St. Joseph
was no more. In the mean time, in order to celebrate the
GOLDEN JUBILEE truly in the Lord, these devoted Sisters had
asked for general communions according to the intention of
the venerated Ursuline of Quebec, in all the convents of
Ireland Ursulines, Sisters of Mercy, and others, They had
begyed the prayers of the Jesuits, Trappists, Lazarists and
Brothers of the Christian schools. _ In their own community
there were rejoicings, vows and prayers, in keeping with
the warmth of their true, Irish hearts, It was a strange
contrast to the month’s Requiem in Quebec; yet, how beau-
tiful in the sight of God, who is above all the Gop oF CHa-
rity, Our pious annalist expresses the hope “ that the dear
Mother, for whom this mingled concert of mourning and
rejoicing met from the two shores of the Atlantic, contem-
plated the scene from her throne in heaven, while we adore
in silence the dispensations of Divine Providence, regulating
all things for the good of the elect.”
MOTHER BOISSONNAULT OF ST. MONICA 341
Mother St. Joseph had been the annalist and Chapter-
secretary from 1823 to 1841; the last lines she traced in the
annals were written within a few weeks of her death.
Having mentioned Mother Berthelot of St. Joseph in the
capacity of superior, as well as that of annalist, let us not
separate her from her successor in both offices, Mother Mar-
guerite Boissonnault of St. Monica, a native of the parish
of St. Valier, near Quebec, It was as a casual visitor that
Migs Boissonnault first became acquainted with the Ursu-
lines, to whose labors she was associated in 1813.
Doubtless it was a great surprise to herself when, only
twelve years after her profession, she was called to exercise
the office of Superior. Mother St. Monica was not however
blessed with health: she was often a sufferer, but edified her
Sisters at all times, by her patience and resignation as well
as by her regularity, her zeal for the glory of God and the
salvation of souls, It was one of her greatest consolations to
be able to render service to youth by teaching, particularly
in the department of the extern-school, where she’ presided
many years as mistress-general. Another ardent wish of her
heart was gratified in seeing several members of her family
called to consecrate their lives to God, in the religious or in
the ecclesiastical state !, A great veneration for the traditions
of the house and the heroic times of Canada her country, a
spirit of research joined to a taste for history, supplied the
1—Rev. L, Ed. Bois, the worthy pastor who labored with so much
zeal during thirty-five years in the parish of Maskinongé, is a
nephew of our deceased Mother St. Monica. The real services he
has rendered his country by his excellent historical writings may
be traced to a bent of mind similar to that we have noticed above
in his esteemed relative. Two of Mr. Bois’ sisters entered the
religious state in the Ursuline Convent of Three Rivers.
SSPE
ee ee Sars Seto
Se as ne eee Be ee oe ee
342 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
want of a regular course of studies, and furnished Mother
St. Monica with a fund of information both useful and enter-
taining, Notwithstanding her delicate health, our venerated
Mother lived to attain the seventy-third year of her age, of
which she had devoted fifty to the service of God inthe
cloister.
CHAPTER X
1806 — 1808
THE URSULINES OF THREE RIVERS, GUESTS OF THEIR SISTERS
IN QUEBEC
On the 14th of October, 1806, at the unwonted hour of
nine o'clock in the evening, the conventual door of the Mo-
nastery opened to admit sixteen Ursulines from Three Rivers,
Shivering with the cold, weary and benighted, how welcome
was the aspect of the cloister! doubly welcome by its con-
trast with the discomforts of that small vessel in which they
had been tossed during four days. How touchingly it
reminded them of their own dear retreat, from which the
pitiless flames had lately driven them! How affecting was
the sympathy betraying itself in tears, the tender embrace,
the cordial, sisterly reception that awaited them!
The hour was late for the convent, but quickly the news
had circulated from cell to cell, as if by the electric wires,
and sister after sister gathered in, for how could they delay
till morning to testify their joy at such a meeting and their
grief at its cause? Quickly the hospitable fires rekindled,
provided the steaming tea-urn, the restoring evening repast,
URSULINES OF THREE RIVERS IN QUEBEC 343
while the low murmur of scarcely audible, yet animated con-
versation showed that the law of silence may sometimes
yield, in a deferential way, to the superior law of charity.
The conflagration of the monastery of Three Rivers had
taken place a month previous ; yet how many details remained
to be made known. Dear reader, you have not failed to
witness one of those too frequent, and ever heart-rending
scenes : the fire seizing upon the peaceful dwelling of a happy
family, the belching smoke, the hurried issue of the fright-
ened inmates ; the din, the flames, the deafening shouts, the
promiscuous gathering crowds. Such, and even more sad
had been the spectacle beheld at Three Rivers, on the 2nd of
September.
It was not without difficulty that the nuns and their
boarders, with the poor sick people of the hospital, avoided
the awful fate that threatened them. The escape of all, under
the circumstances, seemed almost miraculous, In less than
an hour from the first alarm, the convent, the hospital, the
church, with roofs fallen in and crumbling walls, had been
transformed to monuments of ruin and devastation.
Here were youth and age, the nuns and the objects of
their care, all driven at night-fall from their happy asylum,
and suddenly thrust upon the charity of the public. The
vood ‘people of Three Rivers, for whom the affliction of the
nuns was a family sorrow, and the burning of the monastery
a real calamity, were not slow to manifest their sympathy
and their good will. From every side were heard pressing
offers of shelter and hospitality ; but, as the fire slackened,
the nun; perceived that there still remained to them two
small buiidings, the extern school-house and the bake-house,
Within these narrow limits, like our own nuns on a similar
occasion, they determined to reside, clinging to the cloister
2S eS Se
at
844 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
ee
like the bird to its nest, even when the branch is severed
from the tree.
Although lodgings were found, there was still sufficient
room for the exercise of charity. A religious community is
a large family to provide for, and there were besides, the
patients of the hospital. Later, it was arranged that a part
of the nuns should accept the invitation of their Mothers of
Quebec, as we have seen,
Mother St. Olivier the Superior, with Mothers Ste. Croix,
St. Angela, and a lay-sister remained within the cloister,
making a home of the bake-house, where they managed to
keep up a day-school while the reconstruction of the monas-
tery was going on. The same narrow apartment served as
a chapel on Sundays for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Such were the lodgings and accommodations of these gene-
rous nuns during thirteen months, at the end of which
(November, 1807), their new monastery was ready to receive:
them.
Returning now to the guests so cordially welcomed in the
Old Monastery, let us continue to observe the scene, Among
them our nuns have recognized many a relative or former
pupil, But above all others, one attracted their attention
and tender compassion: this was an aged nun, so feeble
and wayworn, that as she entered, she needed the supporting
arm of her Sisters. It was Mother Teresa of Jesus (Ursule
Baby) who by a singular destiny, after spending fifty-five
years in the monastery of Three Rivers and governing it as
superior, was now coming to end her days among her former:
Mothers, the Ursulines of Quebec. She was returning to
them, like a long absent wanderer to the home of her youth ;
to find the friends of former days departed, many old familiar
URSULINES OF THREE RIVERS IN QUEBEC 345
haunts changed or faded from memory. Not one of the dearly
beloved teachers of her childhoou remained to embrace her.
Mother Davanne of St. Louis de Gonzague had survived till
lately, but she too was gone, and she was the last of those
olden times “ before the Conquest.” Two of the oldest nuns,
Mother Brassard of St. Magdalen and Mother Cureux of Ste.
Agathe, both in their seventieth year, may have met her as
a boarder, but they could scarcely claim the title of old
schoolmates,
Mother Teresa of Jesus was already looking forward to
meet her former friends in heaven without a long delay. She
had not found them among the living, but she had come to
mingle her ashes with theirs in the tomb.
It was a precious occasion for our nuns to surround the
dying bed of their venerable Sister with all the soothing care
that kindness can imagine or charity bestow. The patient
sufferer, as edifying as she was beloved, lingered but a few
weeks, and after receiving the last consolations of our holy
religion, gently passed to a better life on the 14th of Novem-
ber, amid the united prayers and regrets of the two commu-
nities. The Office for the dead, the burial service, the last
look at the beloved and honored remains, the lowering of the
coffin into the vault, sealed a second compact of union and
affection between the two houses, while the first yet sub-
sisted in all its fulness.
Two of the Sisters were recalled in January to aid the
little band in Three Rivers. The remaining thirteen contin-
ued with their Mothers of Quebec, where they were as
much at home as if they had always formed a part ot the
community. At the end of fifteen months a new convent
stood in place of that destroyed by the fire. The letter
announcing that the structure was completed recalled the
346 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
sisters from Quebec. A winter’s journey of five days in
covered sleighs took the exiles home, one band in January;
the other in February, 1808, ‘The separation, says our
annalist, was not effected without many tears on both sides,”
The Ursulines of Three Rivers might well bless the kind
hand of Providence for the restoration of their monastery and
hospital; it was a munificent gift to receive from the liberal-
ity of friends, Their chief benefactor on this occasion was
Bishop Plessis, who took upon himself the responsibility of
directing the work and bringing it to a happy conclusion,
generously supplying whatever was wanting in the funds
furnished by the government and by the puhlic,
According to the estimation of the eminent Prelate, “the
accident of the conflagration was permitted to show that the
resources of divine Providence are boundless, and to afford
the faithful of the diocese the occasion to manifest their cha-
rity, and testify their gratitude for the invaluable services
the Ursulines have rendered all classes of society.”
Our readers must be aware that prosperity has not ceased
to shine upon that excellent community down to the present
day. The spacious and commodious buildings erected in
1808, have received several important additions, according to
the increasing wants; for in Three Rivers as in the other
parts of Canada, an awakened interest in the cause of edu-
cation has been promptly met by the corresponding zeal of
educational establishments. Successive additions to the con-
vent-buildings, of late years, have enabled our Sisters to offer
every desirable accommodation to their numerous pupils.
FROM QUEBEC TO NEW ORLBANS 847
CHAPTER XI
1822
THE URSULINES OF QUEBEC AID THE URSULINES OF
NEW ORLEANS
Five years after Bienville, like another Champlain, had
traced in the midst of a wilderness the site of a capital
which he foresaw would become the metropolis of a flour-
ishing colony, French Ursulines from the city of Rouen
had accepted a pressing invitation to found there a convent
of their Order,
The heroic little band, consisting of nine professed Sisters
and a novice, embarked in February, 1727, to reach their
destination only after being often harassed by tropical storms,
twice pursued and nearly taken by corsairs, threatened with
shipwreck by the tempests of the Carribean Sea, till at the
end of five months they escape the perils of the Gulf only
to be stranded on a sea-bar at the mouth of the Mississippi.
tescued from the danger of perishing here, they have
still a fortnight’s voyage through the tortuous passages, by
which the river finds its way amid the sea-marshes that
ages have accumulated at the entrance of the Gulf. At last,
late in July, they have reached the “ village” of New Orleans.
As nearly a century previous in Quebec, when Marie de
Incarnation and her courageous companions were received
with rejoicings, so in New Orleans, “ the Governor and the
principal people of the town came forward to welcome the
nuns as the best treasure the mother-country had ever sent
them !,”
1—-The Ursulines in Louisiana, by a Sister of Mercy.
348 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Lodged in a large country-house belonging to the Governor
while their convent was being built,they were soon surrounded
by children of every hue and race, These devoted Ursu-
lines found means to render the services which would
have sufficed to employ three or four different institutions.
Instruction for colored women, a day-school for children, a
hospital, a house of refuge: such were the good works com-
menced by the Ursulines within three years of their founda-
tion,
The terrible massacre of the Natchez, which happened
soon after, yave them the melancholy occasion of opening a
vast orphanage. Thus the foundresses of the Monastery of
New Orleans had a providential mission to accomplish before
they entered upon the regular duties of their vocation as Ursu-
lines
From time to time, our nuns had corresponded by letter
with their sister-Ursulines on the subject of requested aid. It
was not pecuniary aid that was solicited, the convent being
richly endowed, but something more difficult to obtain, and
which in Louisiana was rarer than money. That colony, so
different from Canada, both as to the quality of its first settlers
and the enervating effects of its climate, offered few vocations
for religious establishments. On the other hand,Quebec, by the
difficulty of communication, was farther from New Orleans
than from Paris. ‘“ A year’s journey, says Mother St. Louis
de Gonzague, is really too long to be thought of. Were it a
question of going to France, we might deliberate, but not to
the Mississippi.”
In 1821, Bishop Plessis received from Bishop Dubourg, to
whom the diocese of New Orleans had lately been confided,
a communication exposing the necessities of that precious
institution “ so necessary to the welfare of his flock, now
FROM QUEBEC TO NEW ORLEANS . 849
sorely tried and in danger of perishing, if not succored in
season” !, Inthe words of Bishop Dubourg “ the ancient
columns of the edifice were in a state of decay, and at the
approaching moment of their fall, there would be found only
feeble reeds to supply their place.” The demand was there-
fore, for “ three or four professed nuns of mature age, of
good judgment and formed to the practice of virtue, to fill up
the interval between the aged and the young.” The case was
clear, but the prospect of giving up several subjects so pre-
cious to any community was not inviting,
The negotiations, however, were not abandoned, and the
following year (1822), three candidates for the arduous mis-
sion were named, They were Mother Félicité Borne of St.
Charles, Angélique Bougie of St. Louis de Gonzague, and
Pélagie Morin of St. Etienne, all between thirty and forty
years of age, and well qualified for the difficult position that
awaited them. The gratitude of the worthy Bishop, and of
the Ursulines of New Orleans, on learning the happy issue
of their appeal, was without bounds, “ A thousand blessings
upon you, writes Bishop Dubourg to Bishop Plessis, for the
benevolent interest you have taken in the success of my
petition. Our Ursulines share my gratitude, both towards
your Lordship, and towards their honored Sisters of Quebec,
We shall receive the precious acquisition as a present from
Heaven, and as a new mark of that wonderful goodness of
‘God which we have experienced so palpably for several years
past.”
1—The Monastery counted nearly a century of existence; yet, as
in the times when our own Mother Mary of the Incarnation and
Mother St. Athanasius were asking help from France, the commu-
nity of New Orleans consisted of the aged and the young, without
the intermediate link, the middle-aged, uniting the maturity and
ithe experience necessary for the more importani offices.
850 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTURY
The great decision being taken, preparations were made
for the journey, It was quite an event, not only for the three
good Mothers, the even tenor of whose life was so unex-
pectedly disturbed, but for the wide circle of friends, relatives,
and acquaintances, scattered through the length and breadth
of the country.
The departure was definitively fixed for the third of
October, On the secend, Bishop Plessis came to the Convent
to offer Mass, and give Communion to the generous mis-
sionaries, happy to see them prepared to make their sacrifice
with generosity. Revd, Father Maguire, then pastor of the
country-parish of St. Michel, had been chosen to be the Ra-
phael of the journey, preluding by this signal service the many
benefits he would have occasion later to bestow upon the
Ursulines of Quebec, On the day of the departure,the touching
prayers for travellers in the Itinerary of the Roman ritual,
were recited after Mass with emotions not easy to describe ;
nor shall we attempt to tell how that last day at home was
passed,
At six o’clock the parting embrace had been given ; a last
adieu had separated them whom mutual charity and a
similar choice of Heaven had united in the sacred bonds of
religious friendship,
The three nuns, in travelling attire, pass the convent
door, traverse the silent groups of sympathizing friends, enter
the carriages that are waiting for them, and are conducted as
in triumph to the wharf in the Lower Town. The steamboat,
lying at anchor and illuminated to honor the occasion,
remained near the quay til] an advanced hour of the evening,
in order to allow the visits of friends to be prolonged,
At Three Rivers, another Ursuline, Mother Normanville
of St, Helen, was waiting to offer a similar sacrifice by join-
ing the missionary-band, thus completing the number of
FROM QUEBEC TO NEW ORLEANS 351
professed nuns demanded, Captain Morin, who seemed to
have placed his vessel entirely at the disposal of the tra-
vellers, waited till they had visited the convent, and received
the blessing of the revered Abbé de Calonne.
On Saturday, at four o’clock P. M., they were at Montreal,
The quay was crowded with people, eager to see those Ursu-
lines who were so courageously exiling themselves for the
love of God, but their prudent conductor, Rev, Thomas
Maguire, enabled them to avoid the gaze of the curious,
Capt. Morin landed them on a private wharf, within a few
rods of the Hétel-Dieu, The kindness of these good nuns,
the cordial welcome of the Sisters of the Congregation and
all the affection that awaited them at the General Hospital,
were described by our voyagers in grateful terms, After
pausing only one day in Montreal, they proceed to New
York, with an addition to their party of three young ladies
from Detroit, candidates also for the life of the cloister in the
South.
It was not a mere day’s journey, at that time, to go from
Montreal to New York. Between La Prairie and Lake
Champlain our travellers had to endure the fatigue of carriage-
conveyance; thence by steamboat, amid “ passengers of every
color, and almost every nation,” they reach the great city on
the 11th October, the fifth day after leaving Montreal.
Happy were the tired travellers to receive hospitality at
the hands of the Sisters of Charity, recently founded in the
United States by that admirable woman, Mother Seton. On
the 21st October, Father Maguire resigned his post as con-
ductor of the missionary band, in favor of Rev, Mr, Janvier,
a worthy priest deputed by Bishop Dubourg to this effect,
and the whole company embarked for a sea-voyage of twenty
days.
352 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
More adventures than pleasures were in store for them.
They had not been a week out at sea, when the most oppres-
sive heat they had ever experienced gave them a foretaste
of the zone they were approaching. Then a furious storm
came on, during which a sailor was swept overboard. In
attempting to rescue the unfortunate man, the vessel was for
a moment on the point of being submerged ; the waves came
dashing over the deck inundating the passengers’ rooms, and,
but for a skilful manceuvre, a watery grave might have been
tke end of the voyage. But this was nothing in comparison
with the peril of an encounter with pirates. Happily the
Captain perceived their ship soon enough to avoid being the
first attacked. The thirty men-passengers on board were
armed, and ordered on deck to aid the mariners, their seven
guns were charged, and a vigorous fire soon forced the
pirates to draw off. As the enemy disappeared, the packet-
ship spread her sails and soon regained the time lost. The
terror of our poor nuns may easily be conceived ; but as no
harm befell them, they had only to change their petitions for
the protection of Heaven into thanksgivings.
A false rumor, however, gave their friends in Canada
more than six weeks of cruel suspense and anxiety. The
report was that the pirates had captured the packet-ship and
made the crew prisoners, retaining their prize twenty-four
hours, when another vessel, the Alligator, had attacked the
pirates and forced them to give up their booty. Such a catas-
trophe was commented upon and deplored on every side;
there was noend of conjectures and visits of condolence. It
was only on the second of January that letters from our
nuns furnished a correct account of the affair, This was
promptly published on the newspaper Le Canadien, in order
to relieve the anxiety of the many friends interested in the
fate of the voyagers.
for
ada
he
and
our
the
tas-
ide ;
It
our
was
prder
b the
°ROM QUEBEC TO NEW ORLEANS 353
In the mean time, our Ursulines had reached their desti-
nation, The venerable Superior, Mother St. Michael, who
had been inspired to ask for them, had only waited, it would
seem, to hear that her request was granted, in order to die
contented, in the assurance that her dear community would
be well provided for, Her successor wrote, with a gratitude
most touching, her thanks for “ the precious boon, praying
that the Almighty might preserve the dear Sisters long, for
the salvation of so many souls who, without the instruction
given in the convent, would never know God.”
The generous exiles, on their part, were not disappointed
in their new Sisters; the kindness with which they were
greeted on arriving was but one instance of the charity that
reigned supreme in the convent, and which ever surrounded
them with its ineffable charms.
In 1824, the Ursulines of New Orleans exchanged their
ancient convent in the city for a more salubrious site, at the
‘distance of about three miles, where they built their present
monastery, a spacious brick edifice three hundred feet long,
with wings in the rear.
Our Sisters continued to render important services to their
adopted community till called to their reward, Mother St.
Louis de Gonzague in 1833, Mother St, Etienne in 1846,
One was still living, in 1849, to welcome and encourage two
other members of the Monastery of Quebec, Mothers Victoria
White of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, and Catherine Burke
of St. Thomas, on their way to aid the newly-founded
convent of Ursulines in Galveston, Texas*
Although Mother St. Charles, the latest survivor, always
suffered from the climate of New Orleans, so different from
that of her native land, still her vigorous constitution bore
her to the advanced age of sixty-nine years, thirty of which
she had passed in the South.
23
854 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
The triple link between the two oldest communities of
Ursulines in America was strengthened again in 1836, when
through the mysterious decrees of Divine Providence, the
devoted little band of Ursulines, driven from their convent
on Mt. Benedict (Charlestown, Mass.), took refuge with the
various communities of their Order, two remaining with the
Ursulines of Quebec, two others joining the Ursulines of
Three Rivers, while three offered themselves to the convent
of New Orleans, The important services these sorely tried
religious were enabled to render, in each of these their adopted
communities, must have served to console them, and gra-
dually to efface the remembrance of the disaster, with the
long-nourished hope of seeing it repaired,
CHAPTER XII
1800-1839
MOTHER MCLOUGHLIN OF ST, HENRY AND MOTHER DOUGHERTY
OF ST, AUGUSTINE
PIONEERS OF ENGLISH TEACHING IN THE CONVENT
With the dawn of the nineteenth century, the thistle and
the shamrock entwine for the first time with the fleur-de-lis
and the maple-leaf, beneath the sheltering roof of the Old
Monastery. The year 180U ushers in as candidates for
religious profession, Mothers Mary Louisa McLoughlin of
St. Henry and Elizabeth Dougherty of St. Augustine, whose
names unmistakably betoken their Scotch and Irish lineage.
Henceforth, the blooming garland, intermingled more or less
with the rose, in some of its varieties, will not cease to glow
ERTY
and
e-lis
Old
s for
in of
hose
eage.
r less
glow
PIONEERS OF ENGLISH TEACHING 835
within the sacred shrine of St. Ursula, the different leaves
and flowers clasping in such close embrace that to part them
would be to destroy.
In the two worthy Mothers above named we have the
pioneers of English instruction in the convent. Directed
hither as if to answer the requirements of the period, provid-
ing the “right persons at the right time,” their vocation
affords another instance of the «dmirable protection of divine
Providence over certain chosen souls as well as over the
Monastery.
Born in the same year, 1780, Miss Dougherty in the city
of New York, Miss McLoughliu at Riviére du Loup, (below
Quebec), deprived till the age of fifteen, by the peculiar cir-
cumstances in which they were placed, of the inestimable
happiness of making their first Communion, they met in the
Ursuline Convent to perform that great act, and, at the age
of twenty, pronounced the vows of religion before the same
altar, in the year 1800.
The talents of both were of a superior order, and the faci-
lities afforded each for the cultivation of her mind were
altogether peculiar, and seem really providential when
viewed in relation to the duties that awaited them as
Ursulines.
Miss Elizabeth Dougherty had been tenderly and piously
eared for, from her infancy, by her mother, wlto was a native
of the city of New York and a Protestant. At the age of
eleven or twelve, she visited London and Paris, in company
with her parents, and her voyage was not lost upon her,
either for the information of her mind or the polish of her
manners. Bereaved of his wife shortly after his return from
Europe, Mr. Dougherty solaced himself with the society of
his little daughter, continuing to direct her studies in
356 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
grammar, history, arithmetic and geography, From these to
astronomy, from earth to the skies, the transition is natural,
The rudiments of French and Latin were a necessity, accord-
ing to his views, for his own education was classical and his
tastes literary.
They had been the cause of his voluntary exile from his
native land, where the penal laws :uffered no Catholic to
rise above the soil on which he trod.
What particular motive led Mr. Dougherty to come to
Quebec is not explained; in all probability it was the same
that had driven him from New York to travel during the
first years of the American Republic: the desire to preserve
the allegiance he had sworn as a British subject. The
position he occupied here appears to have been that of an
office-holder under the local government. Elizabeth was at
-once placed under the care of the Ursulines, The course of
religious instruction in preparation for her first Communion
made a profound impression upon her, for she was of an age
to appreciate more fully than a child of ten or eleven the
-sublime favor to which she aspired. From this period she
-dated her first attraction to the religious state. The vivid
-sense of her immense obligations to Heaven, the firm deter-
‘mination to observe her baptisinal vows, and to preserve the
white robe of innocence bestowed anew in the sacraments she’
ihad just received, inspired her with the utmost contempt of
the world, and an ardent desire to give herself all to Eiim who
thad given Himself to her as a pledge of eternal life.
At eighteen years of age, Miss Dougherty, who had spent
‘three years in our classes, entered the novitiate (1798), the
novice-mistress being Mother Davanne of St. Louis de
‘Gonzague,
PIONEERS OF ENGLISH TEACHING 357
Another young lady, Miss Mary Louisa McLoughlin, as
we have said, although born of Catholic parents living in
Canada, had also deferred her first Communion till she was.
fifteen years of age. She was a grand-niece of that Colonel.
Fraser who commanded the regiment of Scotch Highlanders.
at the taking of Quebec in 1759, Our readers perceive that
already the convent is winning members from the ranks of
the conquerors. John Malcolm Fraser, brother of the
Colonel, had married twice, and the daughters of his second
wife, who was a Catholic, followed the religion of their
mother. Mary Louisa, the little grand-daughter, was six
years old when she first appeared in the house of the old
soldier. He was so charmed with her childish attractions
that he declared she should not return with her parents to
Riviere-du-Loup, and almost by force, retained her as his.
adopted child. She would be the light of the household in
his declining years, and inherit more largely than her family
in the property at Riviere du Loup, which belonged to him
as a retired officer of the British Army.
Mr, and Mrs. McLoughlin were not without solicitude for
the faith of their child; especially when they found her, as.
she grew older, attending the Sunday services with ‘her
grandfather, and going to a Protestant school instead of the
convent. Although Mrs, Fraser profited of every opportunity
to instruct the child in the Catholic religion, according to the
earnest request of both father and mother, yet it must be
allowed, it was not without great peril to the faith in which
she had been baptized, that Miss McLoughlin grew up with-
out participating in the life-giving sacraments of the Church.
At length, her own reflections convinced her that she could
no longer remain a mere spectator of what others were doing
“to gain eternal life.” She felt that religion, that vital
question on which depends the fate of an immortal soul,
SS SS Se
858 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
could not be treated as a matter of taste, or fashion, or con-
venience, She was not too young to consider seriously the
path before her,
On the one hand, she nad relatives, friends and acquaint-
ances belonging to the first ranks of society, who professed
the various creeds that had made their appearance in the
country, On the other hand, she was fully convinced on that
fundamental point, the unerring teaching of the Church of
Christ against which “ the gates ot hell shall never prevail.”
A decision in. conformity with her convictions followed ;
after which, a course of religious instruction, prepared her
for the great act of professing the Catholic Faith!. This
ceremony took place in the chapel of the Seminary of Quebec,
in presence of the Superior M. Gravé de la Rive, V. G., and
of the young lady’s father, Mr, John McLoughlin. Passing
over in silence the storm raised by the disappointed Colonel
on this occasion, we follow with pleasure the footsteps of
this predestined soul, as she obeys the impulse of grace»
soliciting first permission to enter the convent as boarder,
and later, when her pious meditations have convinced her
of the will of Heaven in her regard, arming herself with
true Christian courage, in order to execute a project capable
of drawing upon her family very serious consequences, as
far as regarded their temporal prosperity. This new resolve
was “ to make her calling and election sure, ” by embracing
the religious state. Placing her trust in Him for whom aloue
such sacrifices ought to be made, the great step was taken,
1—Miss McLoughlin’s instructor on this important occasion was
the noble French exile, the Abbé Philippe Desjardins, at that time
chaplain of the Hétel Dieu. On his return to Paris, he was appointed
Vicar General. He never lost sight of his interesting pupil, but
corresponded with her by letter till within a few months of his
death, 1833.
PIONEERS OF ENGLISH TEACHING 859
with the consent of her parents, not less generous than their
daughter, while the irascible relative was absent on a jour-
ney. His terrible wrath was again appeased, and thus it
became an authenticated fact, that there beat in the breast
of the veteran of former battles a forgiving heart, capable of
relenting on proper occasions, incapable, at least, of cominit-
ting a manifest injustice by attempting to constrain that free-
will which it has pleased the Almighty to bestow on His
intelligent creatures,
The ceremony of Miss McLoughlin’s taking the veil, on
the 27th of February, 1798, was preceded by a rite rarely
reserved for such an occasion, The Bishop was there to
administer, first, the sacrament of Confirmation: thus the
plenitude of the gifts of the Holy Ghost filled her soul, at the
important moment of her enlisting under the glorious banner
of St. Ursula. Two years later (1800), in the joy of their
hearts overflowing with gratitude and love, the two happy’
novices whom we have brought before our readers, consum-
mated their sacrifice by pronouncing their final vows,
Here we behold the two English teachers, to whom were
confided the first regular classes in that language. The time
was past when English-speaking pupils were content to learn
French only, in the convent; nor could the French pupils
afford to be ignorant of the English language. Forty years
had multiplied the English portion of the population of Quebee,
and had given them schools of their own, to which the pupils
of the convent would have been tempted to resort, had they
not already acquired a sufficient knowledge of the language.
Mother St. Augustine and her companion, Mother Mc-
Loughlin of St. Henry, were prepared to make their classes
interesting and profitable. The former, as we have seen, had
860 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
received Jessons from her father; the latter was initiated into:
the popular sciences by her friend and spiritual father, ’Abbé
Desjardins,
In the study of geography, the terrestrial globe was now
displayed, naps were shown and the pupils taught to copy
them ; gleams of general history and astronomy lent their
aid, Within the novitiate, other teachers were forming, aa if
in the prospect of a wider course of studies; while divine
Providence was preparing to reinforce the staff of English
teachers by the vocation of Miss Genevieve McKutcheon
and Miss Margaret Cuddy, known later as Mothers St. Helen
and St, Athanasius.
If the services of Mothers St. Henry and St. Augustine
were chiefly required for teaching English, they were not less
qualified for the French classes, In painting, drawing, and
embroidery Mother St. Augustine excelled ; yet these external
“accomplishments were of little value in the esteem of either,
compared with one moment of recollection and prayer, To
develope the religious sentiment—that sentiment which
elevates the soul while it enlarges the mind—was, above all,
the object these true Ursulines had in view in the care they
bestowed upon their pupils.
But the two novices who had met from points so far dis-
tant were not destined to continue their career together
many years, Employed exclusively in teaching, as long as
her health permitted, Mother St. Augustine was placed at
the head of the novitiate, in 1812, as a comparative repose.
But already her days were numbered, Death had marked:
her for his victim, and in the springtide of 1814, like some
fair fruit, ripe before its time and suddenly harvested by one-
tude blast, Mother St. Augustine, struck down by a violent
malady, found in the bosom of her God an early rest and.
PIONEERS OF ENGLISH TEACHING 361
an endless reward for her pure and holy life, She was but
thirty-five years of age.
Of Mother St. Henry’s piety, her energy, her promptitude
in obeying the voice of duty, our readers have formed an
opinion by what they have already seen of her. Not less
remarkable was her alacrity in the observance of the rule
while her lightsome countenance was ever expressive of
interior joy and cheerfulness, The message sent by her former
tutor, the Abbé Desjardins, was well understood, when
writing from Paris he advised “ Sister St, Augustine to try
to prevent Sister St. Henry from laughing.”
The day came however, all too soon for her desires, when
the cares that devolve upon those who are charged with the
principal offices may have moderated the buoyancy of her
youthful spirits. Ten years had not yet elapsed after her
profession, when she was appointed mother-mistress, with the
obligation of guiding others in the path in which she was
herself waiking with such fervor, Her days of repose were
already past. From the novitiate called to the depository, and
thence to the charge of Superior, Mother St. Henry filled these
offices alternately during more than a quarter of a century,
Her zeal for the instruction of youth, her enlightened views
of education, her numerous friends in the highest ranks of
society as well as among the clergy, the concurrence of her
devoted brothers, the Doctors McLoughlin in all her plans,
and their generosity in sending her from Paris, where one of
them resided, whatever would be useful to her in the schools !;
1—Globes, maps, a celestial planisphere, useful and interesting
games, were among the presents, received by Mother St. Henry,
from her devoted brother Dr. David McLaughlin, who lived in Paris,
This brother had married Lady Jane Capel, niece of the Viceroy
of Ireland, and was on friendly terms with Lord Aylmer and Lord
Gosford, previous to their appointment to the office of Governor of
Canada.
862 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
such were some of the peculiar circumstances that rendered
her administration a double blessing to the community in the
important labors assigned to her direction as Superior, Bishop
Plessis, who had recsived the episcopal consecration about
the same t' :« as Mother St. Henry had made professign,
seconded all her efforts to introduce a wider course of studies,
and manifested on every occasion the highest esteem both
for her and for the whole community.
If our readers are aware of what Bishop Plessis was
towards his clergy, among his people, or in his intercourse
with strangers, they may form an opinion of what Mother
St. Henry was in her community, among the pupils and the
many strangers who called to see her at the parlor or who
obtained permission to visit the interior of the monastery. It
was often remarked that the motherly kindness with which
she greeted all who approached her, seemed to be still more
tender towards strangers, or towards those who were in need
of compassion or assistance,
In 1836, Mother St. Henry, completing the fourth term
of her superiority, saw herself again placed at the depository,
and successively in the other chief offices where her expe-
rience could be made available to the community, The end
of her useful career was announced by a painful malady,
which, after affording occasion for the practice of every vir-
tue, and the triumph of her invariable patience, was crowned
by a peaceful and happy death on the third of July, 1846.
The following tribute to the memory of the dear deceased,
appeared on the Quebec Gazette.
“ Died, on Friday, the third instant, at the Convent of
the Lrsulines of Quebec, Rev. Mother St. Henry (Mary
Louisa McLoughlin), at the age of sixty-six years. During
the long period of forty-six years of religious profession, she
filled at various times the office of Superior of the commu-
PIONFERS OF ENGLISH TEACHING 863
nity, with that rare talent, prudence and justice which
merited for her the highest confidence and esteem, She will
be long and deeply regretted, not only by the citizens of
(Juebec, of every class and nationality, who have so often
rendered homage to her virtues and fine qualities, but also
by all those strangers who have had occasion to visit that
estimable institution, none of whom ever went away without
expressing the highest admiration for the noble manners and
the interesting conversation of this amiable lady.”
Numerous letters, written by her hand have been pre-
served, furnishing undoubted proof of her capacity for busi-
ness and of her mental culture, as well as of the rare qua-
lities of her heart. Among the mourners who wept by her
bedside at the hour of separation, were her three nieces,
Mothers Josephine Michaud of St. Cecile, Marie Talbot of St.
Margaret and Emilie Dechéne of St. Frangois de Borgia, A
sister of the latter had preceded her aunt to the tomb only
four years after the day of her profession,
Mother St. Henry’s portrait is one of the few we have the
good fortune to possess of our former Superiors, It was
executed by an artist, Mr. Bowman, at the special
request of her brother, Dr, McLoughlin, It is so life-like that
we who bear the original impressed upon our hearts, may
still imagine, as we pause before it in the community-hall,
that we really meet again those eyes ever beaming with
charity, and that we hear the mellow tones of that voice so
soothing and maternal which we loved so well.
Often has it been remarked of Mother St. Henry, that it
was sufficient to have seen her once to remain impressed
with the highest respect for her as a religious, and at the
same time attracted by the charm of her conversation, her
presence, her manners, all denoting the accomplished lady
whose mind was even superior to her exterior endowments,
364 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
CHAPTER XIII
SISTER-NOVICES OF MOTHERS ST, HENRY AND ST, AUGUSTINE
The novitiate, in a religious house, represents, in some
degree, the family-circle. Presided by a mother-mistress
whose office is truly maternal, since to her is confided the
trust of forming the character of her youthful charge, teaching
them to walk in the narrow path of perfection, and preparing
each to become the spouse of Christ; composed of souls yet
in the infancy of the spiritual life, whose daily growth in
holiness is often rapid and clearly perceptible, mutual confi-
dence and mutual edification establish relations truly frater-
nal, and impart to sister-novices a family resemblance which
often lasts as long as their lives,
For this reason we love to bring before us from time to
time, a group of those Mothers who have commenced their
religious career together, persuaded that when we have studied
the character of one or two, we have, in a measure, the por-
trait of the others, Hence, having dwelt at some length, on
the memory of Sister McLoughlin of St. Henry and Sister
Dougherty of St. Augustine, the briefest notice of their sister-
novices will suffice.
The amiable senior of the novitiate in the year 1800 was
Mother Angélique La Ferriére of St. Mary, so well known in
later times, whether as mistress-general of the boarders,
assistant-superior, or mistress of novices. In each of these
offices the rare qualities of mind and heart with which
Mother St. Mary was endowed endeared her to all who were
committed to her care and guidance; all found in her a
mother’s solicitude and tenderness, whether in preparing for
A
SISTER-NOVICES OF MOTHER ST. HENRY 865
their duties in society and in the family-circle, or in
pursuing the narrow path of perfection in the religious state.
It was in the fiftieth year of her profession and in the
seventy-third of her age, that the beloved Mother was called
to exchange her labors for an immortal crown. A. brief
malady found her ready for the great summons, but her
sisters ill-prepared to part with her. The friend who had
ever words of encouragement and consolation at her com-
mand, the zealous promoter of education and improvement,
whether in our classes or among her novices; the fervent
religious, rich in all the virtues of her state: such was the
dear Mother whose loss the community was called to deplore,
in the month of January, 1847.
Next in rank of profession is Mother Elizabeth Blais of
St. Monica, who, apparently, entered the House of God only
in the hope of finding it speedily the “ Gate of Heaven.”
Eight years sufficed to win, in answer to her prayers, the
possession of the eternal crown; and it seemed wrong to
weep for one who bade adieu to life without one sigh, one
fear, or one regret.
Mother Louise Olivier of St. Paul, and Mother Margaret
‘Coutant of St. Anne, gave their quurter of a century to the
humble and laborious life of an Ursuline; they merited to
‘be held in esteem for their charitable and edifying conver-
sation, Both were rewarded for a holy life by a happy
death in the course of the year 1826.
Mother Marie-Francoise Aubin of St. Anthony, sister
novice with the two preceding, doubled their career, joining
them in a better orld in 1852,
To all who knew Mother St. Anthony, she appeared the
personification of humility, self-forgetfulness and charity.
‘To aid another Sister in office, to wait upon the feeble or
ailing, to accomplish to the letter the successive duties
oF
vi
366 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
marked out by the rule or by the appointment of her Supe-
rior, such was the aim and the delight of this good Mother.
But an office for which she had a special affection was the
care of the sick, with the night-watching and helpful services
needed in the last stages of a mortal disease, And when the
spirit had fled and the death-chamber was silent, how tender
and how devout was her vigil besite the dear casket, although
rifled of the dearer pearl it once enclosed. At other hours,
among her Sisters in the community, none were more enter-
taininy in conversation than Mother St. Anthony. Her fund
of anecdotes, chiefly tales of the olden times and of the
Mothers who had gone, seemed inexhaustible. Her end came
all peacefully at the age of sixty-eight years. A few months
more would have given her the occasion of celebrating the
fiftieth anniversary of her consecration as the spouse of
Christ. May we not piously believe that such anniversaries
are still more joyfully celebrated in heaven ?
The twin sisters, Marie Louise and Marie Thérése Oneille,
bearing in religion the names of St. Gertrude and St. Catherine,
were ever “ burning and shining lights” by their angelic life.
It was in favor of the Irish class in the extern school that
the amiable Mother St. Catherine put to vrofit the facility she
had acquired in speaking English, in which she displayed an
eloquence, a pathos, which many a sacred orator might envy.
Her instructions doubtless owed their efficacy to that ardent
love of God with which her heart was on fire, for, on these
occasions, she seemed inspired, Her death, in 1842, preceded
by an illness of only three days, filled the convent with
grief. So sudden a stroke found no one prepared, but the
dear soul who so submissively accepted it as the signal of
her eternal happiness. The recitation of the Divine Office
on that memorable 28th May was nigh being interrupted ;
SISTER-NOVICES OF MOTHER ST. HENRY 367
; and at the dinner hour on the following day, no one could
command her emotion sufficiently to read during the meal,
‘ as is the custom.
: Oh! how we pitied that other sister, Mother St. Gertrude,
| 3 nor thought she could survive the separation. But, as some
- one has said, “grief seldom breaks a heart.” The tender ties
4 of nature had been strengthened by forty years of their reli-
a gious life spent together; death could not burst them asunder,
- One had merely gone before; the other would wait the hour
ad to follow; and so she peacefully, silently bears her cross and
he follows on in the narrow path as before. Ten years later
Ab (1852), that fragile frame, after undergoing long and severe
hs sufferings, set free, at last, the willing, the pure, the blessed
he spirit,
of The choir of Virgins pure and bright,
. Around their sister press’d,
oe And hymns of welcome sweet they sang—
; “Come, weary one and rest !”
: . The merits of Mother St. Athanasius and her long labors
‘fo. were known, we might say, to all the Irish population of
hat Quebec and its environs. She was born in Kilkenny and
Bhd came out to this country when but a child; her father, who
i belonged to the military, died almost on their arrival, Kind
vy. friends provided for the widow and the child. Little Mar-
ent garet was placed at the convent, at the age of fourteen, by
ese one who hoped that when she had grown up, he would be
aaa found to suit her choice. But the young girl took her deci- °
ith sion in the calm of her heart, bestowing its affections on a
the heavenly Spouse. Sending for her protector, she informed
of him of her intention to ask admission among the daughters
ee of St. Angela.
ed; It is related that, waiving his claims in a truly Christian
spirit, the young officer used neither reproach nor entreaty
368 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
to dissuade the chosen one from following the call of Heaven,
A few months later, in presence of “ men and angels,” Miss
Cuddy proclaimed her intention of “ persevering until the
end of her life in bearing the sweet yoke of Jesus Christ,”
and exchanged her name for that of St, Athanasius, while
she received the veil and vesture of an Ursuline. Thus, at
sixteen, commenced a long and useful career of more than
three-score years within the cloister,
Possessing a ready memory, an ardent temperament, a
warm Irish heart, she loved next after God her country and
all that belonged to the green IsLe oF Erin, To the latest
day of her life, she remembered with vivid emotion her
native land. Charged with the Irish children at the extern-
school from the time it was opened (1822), she spared
neither labor nor pains to contribute to the"spiritual and
temporal welfare of all who came within her influence. As
a teacher she was indefatigable, holding the reins of govern-
ment with a firm yet even hand. Her politeness was‘
proverbial ; she no less insisted that her pupi's should
in all things comform to the rules of good breeding; and
if refined manners contribute in no small degree to the
well-being of the family circle and of society in general,
in this respect also, the name of Mother St. Athanasius
claims a tribute of gratitude.
We omit with regret much that would charm and edify
in the life of this venerable nun, who after celebrating her
Diamond Jubilee left her place vacant among us in 1875,
dying at the age of eighty-five. We can merely mention
Mother McKutcheon of St. Helen, whose name, even during
her life-time, was esteemed synonymous with that of Saint.
Long infirmities, borne with the patience of one who habit-
ually contemplates the Crucifix, did not prevent her from
discharging the duties of teacher, and especially that of
CONVENT EDUCATION SINCE 1800 869
mistress of novices, with notable success. An unction, as
sweet as it was penetrating, pervaded her words, which
ever made a deep impression, whether in simple conference
with her novices, or in addressing collectively her little flock.
It was in 1862, while the community was engaged in the
exercises of an annual retreat, that our beloved Mother
St. Helen, aged seventy-two, closed in peace her earthly career.
She, who had been the third English-speaking novice
received in the monastery, left twelve teachers of that lan-
guage, yet not one too many for the ever increasing demands
of the institution.
CHAPTER XIV
CONVENT EDUCATION SINCE 1800
Catholic institutions for education in Canada had found in
the policy of the government inaugurated in 1759 difficulties
to which we have briefly alluded elsewhere. At the begin-
ning of the present century, these institutions were far from
the high position which they have at last attained throughout
the land. Among the mass of the population especially, the
scale of instruction had evidently descended. It would be
an interesting study, to trace the gradual rise of our convent-
teaching, from that simple, yet fundamental course including
Christian doctrine and sacred history, reading, writing, arith-
metic, and needle-work, to which it was mostly confined
eighty or ninety years ago, to the wider circle it embraces at
the present day.
24
370 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
By comparing the notes furnished by our annals, it is
evident that the impetus given to studies about the year
1800, both in the novitiate and in the classes, by the well-
directed efforts of Mother St. Henry and St. Augustine, was
but the first wave of a new and powerful current, which
without tearing up the solid bed of a time-worn channel,
began to flow more swiftly, imparting fresh verdure and
plentiful flowers along its pleasant banks,
Already in 1810 “ pupils commenced to be more numer-
ous, and to remain longer at schoo].” In 1815, Bishop
Plessis regulated ‘“ that more time should be allotted to the
studies of the novices, in order to render them proficient in
the various branches which they were required to teach,
French and English grammar, geography, &c, ‘These branch-
es, adds the annalist, attract pupils to the convent, and
afford us an opportunity te form them to the virtues of a
Christian life,”
Half-hoarders had been admitted from the year 1800.
Their class-rooms were distinct from those of the boarders
until 1825, when the two schools were united, in order to
afford greater facility for grading the classes, according to
the rule.” To the new branches already introduced were
added history and translation, The number of boarders varied
from sixty to eighty: the half-boarders were in greater
number,
The extern-school had never ceased to be numerous. In
1822, Rev. J. Signay, parish priest of (Juebec, applied to the
Ursulines to obtain instruction for the Irish Catholics of the
city. We may judge what zeal animated our Mothers of
that period by the fact that they received sixty of these
young girls immediately, although they were obliged to
admit them while the French pupils were absent, from eleven
CONVENT EDUCATION SINCE 1800 371
o'clock to one, in order to have class-rooms, Many of these
children being very poor, had to be supplied with the nourish-
ment of the body as well as that of the soul.
The Irish class was definitively organized, and opened to
the scholars at the same hours as the French Canadians, in
1824, Between seventy and eighty children assembled, at
once, to receive elementary instruction in English, under the
devoted superintendence of Mother St. Athanasius, whose
name became a household-word with the Irish, during her
long and laborious services in the extern-school.,
While our nuns were thus imposing upon themselves
new labors, a wider and higher course of studies in the
solid as well as in the ornamental branches, was being
elaborated,
Mother Dougherty of St. Augustine had formed excellent
pupils, especially in drawing; among these Mother Julie
Painchaud of St. Borgia rivalled and even surpassed her
teacher, During the eighteen years of her too brief career,
she was employed exclusively in the boarding-school, where
she succeeded no less in forming her youthful charge to piety
and good manners than in cultivating their talents and
ornamenting their minds!, Musical instruments were not
unknown, in some of their simpler forms, even in the early
times of the convent 7,
1—The first lessons in crayon and in oil-painting were received
from a French artist in 1820. Twelve years later, Mr. Bowman, a
painter of distinction from Boston, was employed with such success
that the principal altars and shrines within the Monastery were
soon decorated with paintings due to his pupils.
2—'The piano-forte was introduced by a friend of the convent,
Mr. J.B. Glackmeyer. Regular lessons were first given to the
pupils by Mr. Codman, the organist of the Anglican cathedral.
872 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
In 1824, there were novices qualified to give music-lessons,
and some ten years later, secular teachers were no longer
required for any instrument, the organ, harp and guitar
included,
The next fifteen years presented a concurrence of circum-
stances singularly favorable to the complete development of
a higher course of studies. Throughout the country there
was the awakening of a new interest in the cause of educa-
tion. A society under the patronage of the Governor and
approved by the Bishop, to further that cause, first organized
in 1826, became every day more popular and acquired new
importance,
As regards more directly the Convent, there were the
united efforts of able and energetic Superiors both ecclesias-
tical and monastic, of devoted friends among the clergy, par-
ticularly the priests of the Seminary,of accomplished teachers.
Among these we must specify, in addition to those already
mentioned, Mother Cecilia O’Conway of the Incarnation, who
after being a Sister of Charity in New York, became an Ursu-
line, by joining our community in 1823.
Carefully educated by her father, who was a linguist and
a man of extensive learning, Mother Cecilia of the Incarna-
tion had acquired also a fund of useful information by expe-
rience, before giving her services to the monastery of the
Unsulines, To a natural taste for those sciences which in our
century have become so popular, botany, physics, minera-
logy, &c., she joined uncommon skill in all the varieties of
fancy work and embroidery. Active and energetic, she pos-
sessed all that love for teaching, that sympathy for her pupils,
that zeal for their progress, so necessary to form a successful
instructor,
About the same date opened an intimate and cordial
intercourse by letter with the Ursul'ne Convent of St. Mary’s,
CONVENT EDUCATION SINCE 1800 373
Waterford (Ireland), recently founded by the Ursulines of
Cork, Through the kindness of these highly educated sister-
Ursulines, the classes were provided with excellent treatises
and models of literature, in English ; specimens of natural
history and curiosities sufficient to form the germ of a
museum, which every year has augmented down to the
present day.
In 1831, commenced that series of modern improvements,
by additions to the original buildings, which have continued
from time to time during almost a half-century |.
The appointment of Rev. Thomas Maguire as chaplain
won for the convent the services of that eminent friend of
education, for the consolidation of the new plan of studies
and the spiritual direction of the community. A voyage to
Europe (1834-36) afforded him an opportunity to visit
various educational institutions, and to purchase instruments,
with stores of books, curiosities, &c., for the Ursulines, to
whose interests he' was to devote himself during the nineteen
remaining years of his life.
Returning to Canada by the way of New York, in 1835,
our good Father was requested by the Bishop of Boston to
be the conductor of the remaining members of the convent
of Charlestown, Mass., a part of whom had already sought
protection in the Old Monastery of Quebec. Driven from
1—A new story, added to the main building, gave two large halls,
and four smaller class-rooms for the better accommodation of the
boarders. These were solemnly blessed with pious rejoicings on
the 15th of Oct., 1832, by Bishop Signay. After the ceremony,
Lady Aylmer, attended only by the ladies of her suite, the gov-
ernor being absent, paid a gracious visit to the pupils in their
new class-rooms. The same day, other ladies of the city, the parents
and relatives of the pupils, enjoyed also that rare privilege of view-
ing the interior of the Monastery, permission having been given to
that effect.
374 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
their peaceful home at midnight, August 13th, 1834, by a
heartless, deluded mob, they had failed in obtaining redress
at the hands of justice, before the tribunals of Massachusetts,
and they were now, though with reluctance, abandoning the
work of benevolence to which they had desired to conse-
crate their lives,
When the final arrangements had been made, permitting
the Ursuline convents of Three Rivers and New Orleans to
share tle services of these worthy nuns, two of them grate-
fully accepted the dispositions of divine Providence which
assigned to them, as their future home, the house founded by
the Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation. Thus were
acquired the services of Mother Elizabeth Harrison of St.
Joseph, an excellent religious, and a musician in the style of
Saint Cecilia, under whose thrilling touch
waate ....the pealing organ swelled,
Filling the soul with thoughts divine.
By another member of the Charlestown convent, Mother
Mary Barber of St. Benedict, the teaching of the English
language, already thoroughly organized within the monastery,
was placed on the same basis as the French, a standard which
it has never since ceased to maintain.
Among the motives of encouragement, and the stimulants
to exertion in the cause of education, during the years we
are now considering, justice as well as gratitude would lead
us to mention the high patronage, the friendliness and good
will of the Governors of Canada and their noble families,
At all times, a new Governor’s visit tothe Ursuline Convent,
has seemed to follow as naturally his arrival as any another
ceremony of his installation, The New-Year’s visit to the
-
af 2 DM
CONVENT EDUCATION SINCE 1800 875
Ursuline Convent was as much a rule of etiquette at the
Castle, as the New-Year’s ball offered to the citizens,
More frequent and more intimate were the visits of Her
Ladyship and the children. Lady Provost and her daughter,
the Countess Dalhousie, as well as Lady Aylmer, were per-
sonal friends of the nuns, seeking occasions to enjoy their
society, taking interest in the amusements of the pupils or
their success in their studies, More than once, the presenta-
tion of a chart, a rare print or drawing, or some other object
useful for teaching,would follow the examination of a class,
at which one of these kind ladies had presided, Lady Aylmer’s
friendly visits (1830-34) in the class-rooms and the emula-
tion they excited will never be forgotten },
Alternately with the presence of the Governor, of the Lady
of the Castle, it was the annual or the occasional visit of the
chief Pastor of the diocese that awakened new zeal and
encouraged to new efforts fcr the good cause,
Let our readers judge of this by an extract from a letter
addressed to the community by Reverend P.-F. Turgeon,
charged by Bishop Signay with the direction of the Monas-
tery 2,
“Since several years, writes the new Superior in 1833,
your educational department has acquired an importance
highly gratifying to all the friends of religion. The efforts
1—“ In April, 1831, Milady Aylmer, writes the annalist, accom-
panied by several ladies of the city, honored our boarders so far as
to assist at the examination of the higher classes, snd expressed
herself extremely satisfied with their answers. The examination
lasted three hours. Her Ladyship had the goodness to present
crowns of roses to the two that had most distinguished themselves,
and to bestow the Cross of St. Louis upon two others for their appli-
cation. ‘The cross was worn several days, according to our custom
at these examinations.”
2—Later, Archbishop of Quebec.
876 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
you have made to place your boarding-school on the re-
spectable footing it now occupies, are viewed with admi-
ration. All classes of society rejoice to see, that in addition
to the good education you have heretofore given, you have
introduced several branches of learning, which, although
they may not be of great practical utility, have one great
advantage, that of enabling young girls to complete their
education in the convent where their religious instruction
will ever be kept in view, Pious mothers esteem them-
selves happy to be exempted from the necessity of placing
in secular hands the treasures they confide to yours without
anxiety.
“ T feel a lively satisfaction in perceiving that piety and
virtue distinguish the pupils of your institution, etc.”
Another appreciation of the education given sixty years
ago in the convent may not be uninteresting. We shall take
it from the newspaper account of an altogether unprecedented
visit to the Ursulines!. The great hall St. Ursula had been
ornamented for the occasion, and the pupils had prepared for
a little dramatic entertainment in view of the reception offered
to the most distinguished assembly that Quebec could afford.
The Right Reverend J. Signay, Bishop of Quebec, attended
by several members of the clergy, and a large number of
gentlemen of the laity, all most respectable by their character
1—The Ursulines, counting upon an indemnity for the loss of
their property in France, had contracted debts in repairing the
boarding-school. At the same time the old building that served
for the externs was crumbling and needed restoration.
In such circumstances, they applied for pecuniary aid from the
Legislature and received the sum of $200U. It was an opportunity
of which these Honorable Gentlemen took advantage to testify
their desire of visiting the institution.
CONVENT EDUCATION sINCE 1800 377
aud position, had been introduced within the cloister on the
14th of January, 1836. On the following day the subjoined
account appeared on the newspaper Le Canadien |.
“ Yesterday afternoon, the Hon, Speaker and members of
the Legislature were admitted to visit the Ursuline Convent
of this city. The pupils of the institution represented, in
presence of this honorable company, a sacred drama, which
alone would suffice to give the highest idea of the classical
education young ladies receive in this pious institution.
Specimens of painting, drawing and needlework, in all their
varieties, which these gentlemen had an opportunity to
examine, raised their admiration to the highest degree and
all were enchanted with the gracefulness of the pupils, as
well as the affability of the ladies to whose zealous and
enlightened care they are confided,”
The culminating point, as regards the efforts made in
Canada to encourage education and render it popular, was
the introduction of public examinations, The experiment had
been tried at the Seminary of Quebec in 1830 and the
following years with full success, In 1837, the pupils of
the Ursulines, for the first time, presented themselves before
an audience assembled at the invitation of their convent
mothers, to be examined on the different branches they had
studied,
It was on the 3lst of January. Father Thomas Maguire
had offered for the occasion “ the chaplain’s room ” not more
spacious at that time than at the present day. At one end
was the Bishop’s chair, with seats for some twenty priests
who had been invited. The other extremity of the apart-
1—Of which M. Etienne Parent was then editor.
‘
378 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
ment was arranged for a class of young ladies with maps
and globes; the black-board for the grammar-class, for arith-
metic and tracing maps; composition-books, written by the
pupils; specimens of their painting, drawing and embroidery,
suspended on the walls,
There was also a piano awaiting the well-trained fingers of
young musicians, while the harp displayed its fine proportions,
and guitars, their graceful forms, About one hundred pupils
were in readiness in the adjoining apartments, to enter, one
class at a time, to be examined. The programmes and ques-
tion-lists on the various branches, were in the hands of Father
Maguire, who invited, in turn, the cwré of Quebec, Rev. C.
F. Baillargeon, Rev. P. McMahon of St. Patrick’s church,
or some other cl+rgyman, to test the proficiency of the young
students. The morning session was from nine o’clock to eleven ;
in the afternoon, it lasted from two to four o'clock, during
three successive days, the more serious labor of the examina-
tion being diversified by the occasional recitation of a fable,
a poem or a dialogue, by music and singing, or by the read-
ing of an original composition.
At the opening of the last session, the apparatus of a
school-room had disappeared, A king’s throne and tapestried
walls transported the spectators to a palace: it was that of
Assuerus, the Assyrian monarch, as depicted by Racine in
his tragedy of Esther, The dramatis persone succeeded in
fully interesting their audience; but they were in turn even
more interested, themselves, and we write here from personal
recollections, when the names of the successful competitors
in the arena of science being proclaimed, they came forward
to receive, at the hands of the good bishop, the modest, yet
much-prized testimonial, a wreath of flowers or a book in-
scribed with their name.
CONVENT EDUCATION SINCE 1800 379
A valedictory address, a few complimentary and encour-
aging words from the venerable prelate and others who had
presided, and the examination exercises were over. They had
passed off to the entire satisfaction of all parties concerned.
The following year, the large hall in the new building
which bears the name of Ste. Angéle, was opened toa similar
audience ; but another concession was now d2manded,
Parents were only half satisfied to know that their daughters
had done themselves credit by passing a good examination ;
they must witness it themselves, The question having been
carried before competent authority and decided in favor of
the petitioners, in 1839, the exercises took place in presence
of the parents, guardians and sisters of the pupils. The Bishop
with the clergy of the city, judges and other friends of
education, continued to form the “ Board of Examiners ” at
the sessions of Wednesday and Thursday (January 30th and
31st), which were held in the same laige hall that had been
occupied the preceding year. The Mother Superior and a
certain number of the nuns, from an adjoining apartment,
could see the pupils as they presented themselves before the
audience and superintend the proceedings,
The programme of the examination of which we here
subjoin a summary, shows the extent of the course of studies
in 1839:
Pupils, ene hundred and six (the little juniors not included),
Four classes examined.
Studies :—French and English Grammar, Arithmetic, Geography,
History of England, Roman History, Translation, Rhetoric, French
and English Compositions in prose and verse; elements of Astro-
nomy, Botany and Mineralogy including Physics and Chemistry,
with experiments.
The programme was varied with vocal and instrumental music,
the piano, harp and guitar.
On the tables were displayed specimens of writing, drawing and
painting’ needlework and embroidery.
The third session closed with the Drama, CorroLaNnus, and the
DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES.
880 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Some changes and improvements have naturally been
called for, in the course of the past fifty years; the most.
striking are those which regard the examination of the pupils.
These exercises being no longer performed in presence of a
public audience, sre only the more serious and efficacious as
well as more congenial to the taste and feelings both of
teachers and pupils.
In closing these rather desultory remarks on the subject
of education in the Convent, we cannot refrain from mention-
ing again the immense obligations of the community towards
the Bishop of Quebec.
If, in the course of the preceding pages, the paternal solici-
tude of the chief Pastors of the diocese for all the inmates
of the Monastery, has appeared, on every occasion that
regarded their welfare temporal or spiritual, what shall we
say of their judicious and enlightened zeal in promoting the
principal object of the institution, the education of young
girls ? that education which must never lose sight of its
twofold object, preparing at once useful members of society,
and heirs of the kingdom of heaven.
Although the few extracts we have given from the pastoral
exhortations addressed to the community by our worthy
prelates and ecclesiastical Superiors, are sufficient to show
how much the true interests of the institution have been
forwarded by the Episcopal jurisdiction, yet we reserve for
a future page, some further interesting details.
THE OLD BELFRY—THE CONVENT-BELLS 381
CHAPTER XV
1831
THE OLD BELFKY—THE CONVENT-BELLS
An animated and novel scene diversified the environs of
the monastery on the 12th of July, 1831. The convent-
grounds had been invaded by a company of laborers and
carpenters, in the midst of whom appeared the architect,
with Rev. Jér6me Demers, of the Quebec Seminary, and the
aged Pére Daulé, Chaplain of the Ursulines.
Already the roof of the main building has been scaled ;
heavy blows make the shingles fly, the boards and rafters
shiver. But the centre of interest for all, just now, is the
belfry and its cross surmounted spire. That cross, with its
arms pointed by the fleur-de-lis, is a relic of ancient times,
and when tottering on its base, it is seen descending, many
eyes are fixed upon it with affection, as upon something pre-
cious, At length, it lies prostrate on the ground, and beside
it, the bell that had swung beneath for the space of one
hundred and forty years.
But is not this a wanton desecration of old things, as
uncalled for as it is unprecedented? Gentle reader, do not
think we shall readily admit such a supposition. Veneration
for all that comes down to us from our “ ancient Mothers ”
would willingly have preserved that antique belfry, which
gave so monastic a look to the Ursuline convent. But the
imperious demand for more room, on account of the pupils,
that interesting population ever in greater numbers flocking
in, had been taken into consideration. A third story, to be
raised upon the foundation-walls built by Venerable Mother
Marie de I|’Incarnation, was resolved upon and served as
382 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
a model of all the succeeding improvements which in the
space of another half-century would be called for,
Leaving the workmen to continue their labors, let us join
the group of nuns and pupils, who on that summer evening,
when the grounds are again clear of men, surround the piles
of fragments, and testing in playful mood the nearer sound
of the bell, question of its past history. Is this the first
bell that our Mothers ever had? Is it the same that used
to ring so musically, calling the neophytes to the waters of
baptism, or the newly-made Christians to Holy Mass? Is it
that bell which Madame de la Peltrie rang so often, as well .
as Mother St. Joseph and Sister St. Laurent? Alas, no; that
favored bell was not long-lived. It melted in the memorable
tire of the 31st December, 1650, and, according to old
records, ungratefully threatened the life of the Venerable
Mother Mary of the Incarnation, as she passed with intrepid
step through the long corridor,
Is it then that other bell which, some years later, swung
in the belfry of Madame de la Peltrie’s church, and which
tolled so sadly at the two successive funerals of 1671 and
1672; funerals that left the nuns in sad mourning, bereaved
of their tender mothers ?
No, once more, no! A second conflagration put an end
“ To the swinging and the ringing”
of that bell also. But the convent rises again from its ruins,
and this time, the kind hand of charity provides a bell which
is destined to outlive its belfry. It was the gift of Madame
du Tronchet, a French lady who was ever on the watch to
oblige the Ursulines of Quebec. Solemnly blessed, some years
after its reception, the Marquis de Beauharnois and the
Marchioness de Vaudreuil being its sponsors, the fortunate
Marie-J oseph-Louise-Marguerite was not demolished when
THE OLD BELFRY—THE CONVENT-BELLS 883
dethroned in 1830, but was placed in due time in the church-
steeple beside the other of louder tone, Its clear, yet rather
sharp and imperious voice is still heard, alternately with its
neighbor’s, announcing various hours of the day from four
o'clock in the morning to half-past eight at night.
Now, of steeples also there is a story to be told; a semi-
tragical incident which occurred in 1754 affords the occasion,
There was a violent thunderstorm on that dark December
night. The wind blowing a perfect hurricane swept pitilessly
over the whole country, unroofing houses, overturning barns
and performing other feats, worthy of old Boreas in his worst
humor, It shook the Convent tremendously, threatening des-
truction to every thing less solid than stone walls,
On the following morning, the first sight that greeted the
inmates of the cloister was a church without a steeple! The
wind had borne it off, bell and all, and left it in ruins on the
ground. How it cleared the roof without breaking it in, was
a question; but the fact was evident. The cross was a little
damaged ; the bell not at all. The same hurricane, which had
lasted two hours or more, “ had unroofed the barn and torn
the cloister-gate from its hinges,” causing a devastation which,
in all, our Mothers estimated at 2000 livres.
Of course, another steeple arose in due time, and again the
bell was heard calling to prayer: calling at early hours to
awaken the religious, whether in the golden days of summer,
when at four o’clock, the sky is so glorious that its sight
pays the early riser for coming forth from the most refreshing
slumbers ; whether in winter,
“In the icy airof night
While the stars that oversprinkle
All the heavens, seem to twinkle
With a cristalline delight.”
384 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Ever with undeviating punctuality the bell rings out its
solemn peal, calling to prayer, to labor or to repose ; for,
within the monastery, that bell is she voice of order and
authority; it is the voice of God!
How joyously it rings to usher in the great festivals as
the year goes round! How cheerful is its tone on that morn-
ing when the little band of white-robed communicants,
after long preparations for the great day, are admitted for
the first time to the table of the Lord!
How glad, yet solemn is the bell that announces to the
happy novice, that the hour has come for her to pronounce
the “ good word,” Hructavit cor meum verbum bonum, her
final divorce from the world.
More solemn, yet not of utter sadness, is that other voice
of the convent-bell, telling that a soul has gone forth from
her earthly tenement to meet her Creator.
“ Yet ’tis not weariness of life
That makes us wish to die;
3ut we are drawn by cords of love
To our eternity.”
Sometimes we hear it ringing a loud, long and earnest
peal, when the cloistered family, nuns and pupils, are already
assembled in the choir, Through the air the chime is borne
to the whole neighborhood, inviting worshippers to join in
spirit or by their presence, at the sacred function, the after-
noon Benediction service. ‘ Hasten, it seems to say, hasten
ye that are weary and worn with the ungrateful toil of the
week, This is the moment when Jesus waits to bless and
strengthen you. Come, hasten to adore Him! ”
But let us briefly recount the honors, and the end of that
storm-vexed bell, which was precipitated to the ground on a -
December night, as we have just said,
THE OLD BELFRY—-THE CONVENT-BELLS 885
Purchased for our church—just finished in 1723, it was in
the presence of a goodly company that its blessing or baptism
took place, the sponsors being the Intendant’s son, Monsieur
Bégon and Miss Elizabeth de Vaudreuil; the officiating
clergyman was the Vicar General M. de Varennes. Twenty
years after the accident of the storm, from some unknown
cause, the mellow tones of the said bell suddenly changed to
a tinkling and discordant sound, “as unmusical, says the
annalist, as that of an old brass kettle,”
It was necessary to provide another, and our Mothers
were willing to have one of larger dimensions, Through
some mistake in the order, a bell weighing three hundred
and fifty pounds was sent: it was heavier than would have
been desirable. Blessed with less ceremony than the former,
and named Jean-Olivier after the good Bishop of the time,
its reign was inaugurated in 1774.
Having served during a century without any worse acci-
dent than an occasional false turn, or a broken bell-rope, let
us wish it a continuation of “its clear and musical voice;
although it may still merit the reproach bestowed upon it in
its youth, namely, that “ it is rather hard to ring. ”
But another relic of the past has here to be accounted
for, There was a cross which had towered aloft over the
Monastery OF St. UrsuLa for such a length of years that
its origin is lost in obscurity. Would our readers behold it
again? Let them follow, if they may, the long winding alleys
of the nuns’ garden, till they reach the highest part of the
gradually vising ground, Here, a rocky ledge, grass-grown
now, and worn, makes a pleasant pathway while the fractures
and angles of the rugged limestone, relieved by mosses and
25
386 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
lichens, are enlivened by wild flowers that have outlived the
ancientforest. Amid their bloom, stands the old FRENCH Cross,
which once surmounted the belfry over the main building. Its
pedestal is itself a relic, being cut from the trunk of the
OLD ASH TREE, of historic memory, A rustic arbor, near by,
would be at home in the midst of this shrubbery, the elder
with its flat corymbs of sweet-scented white flowers, the
cranberry and red raspberry-bushes mingling with clusters
of golden-rod, buttercups, the star-like white daisy, and
fairy-looking campion, The jointed clover and arrow-leaved
buckwheat seem to have a mission here, in trailing over the
dark-colored rock. The delicate corydalis and wood-sorrel,
the dwarf speedwell with its pretty blue flowers—miniature
forget-mme-nots — remind us of solitary glades and untrodden
dells amid the hills, far away from city-life.
Oh! this is the spot to dream of the olden times! This
height, which has preserved throughout centuries its primitive
vegetation, should bear the foot-prints of the little Indian
girls that wandered here, full of strange, new thoughts of
the Great Spirit, and all His love for them, after they had
listened to the glowing words of Mother Mary of the Incar-
uation or of Madame de la Veltrie. Here, perhaps, sat dear
Mother St. Joseph, with a group of little Huron girls, to
whom she was explaining the words of eternal life; and
here have strayed, at different hours, all those holy nuns
whose lives and examples are our greatest encouragement in
the midst of our labors, similar to those for which they are
now rewarded,
This height, at the present day, is a favorite haunt, espe-
cially in the late afternoon of a summer’s Sunday, when the
rays of the declining sun are screened off by that protecting
line of houses along the street beyond the cloister-wall, On
THE OLD BELFRY—THE CONVENT-BELLS 387
that day of rest, the evening recreation brings out to enjoy
the cooling shade the whole population of the monastery.
The pupils have their spacious grounds, bordered and set out
with trees ; their arcade built on the plan of the ancient
cloisters, only of lighter materials; their croynet-grounds,
their summer-houses. We, from our station near the “old
cross,” may hear their merry shouts and calls. They are
to our right, in the environs of Notre-Dame-de-Grice and
St. Joseph’s, the two modern edifices connected with St.
Augustine’s, that constitute the department of the boarding-
school.
Before us, at the distance of some twenty rods, is the build-
ing occupied by the community, the Holy Family, built in
1686 ; its two modern wings, St. Thomas and Murie-de-?In-
carnution, giving itan aspect massive, and almost severe,
Beyond, at the distance of twenty rods more, is a modern
structure, the extern school-house replacing Madumne de la
Peltrie’s house; while, adjoining the church St, Ursula and
St. Angelw, along the street, connect the cloister, on that
side, with the outer world.
This garden-field, set with fruit-trees and flowering shrubs,
the plum, cherry and apple, the lilac, the mock-orange, and
others stretches away to the north and the west of our rustic
seat in many a shady walk. Before the arrival of the unneigh-
borly English sparrows, the garden of the Ursualines was
the resort of more than twenty species of birds: warblers of
various song, sparrows and finches, the social robin, the
hungry chatterer, the lively swallow, and weary transient
visitors of many a name sought this quiet spot for a few
days’ rest and refreshment. Even now there remain several
of these denizens of the woods to make melody here ; but the
noise of the city reaches us no more than if we were still sur-
888 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
rounded by the wild svenery that formed the landscape two
hundred and fifty years ago.
It is a welcome solitude in the midst of a city, a place for
study, for musing, for repose ; and even, when we raise our
eyes to that Cross, for prayer :
O CRUX AVE, SPES UNICA!
CHAPTER XVI
1832
FATHER JEAN DENIS DAULE
RESIDENCE OF THE CHAPLAIN OF THE URSULINES
During more than a century after the foundation of the
monastery, the spiritual direction and service of the commu-
nity had been for the most part conducted by the good
Fathers of the Society of Jesus, But the noble Society founded
by St. Ignatius was persecuted in Europe, and in 1776, those
indefatigable laborers in the vineyard of the Lord, were treated
as “ useless servants ”; the Society was suppressed. Here in
Canada, by the change of government in 1760, it was doomed
to a gradual extinction till, in 1800, these heroic religious
had disappeared from the country whose soil, during more
‘than a century and a half. had been fertilized by their toil
and the shedding of their blood.
From 1780, the office of chaplain and director was dis-
‘charged by Monsieur Henri Gravé, Vicar-General and Supe-
rior of the Seminary of Quebec, of whose zeal, charity and soli-
FATHER JEAN DENIS DAULS 889
citude the annals have kept grateful remembrance, His death
in 1801 left again an important vacancy to be filled, while it
was evident that with an increase of labor, proportioned to
the growing prosperity of the community and the institute,
the functions of the double office were no longer consistent
with any other regular vocation or duty. Thus, in 1802,
Mother Marchand of St. Ursula being Superior, it was
decided, with the approval of ecclesiastical authority, that
apartments within the monastery, yet distinct from the
cloister, should be provided. .r the vhaplain’s residence, These
were no sumptuous quarters, certainly, and barely sufficient
for the domicile of one willing to live a retired and solitary
life, to follow a rule in accordance with that of the house,
ready at a moment’s notice to quit his own occupations in
order to exercise his office in the ministration of souls,
The first resident cl aplain was Father Antoine Langlois,
a holy young priest, who had already since nine or ten years
led the life of an anchoret as pastor at the Ile-aux-Coudres,
Father Langlois’ duties as chaplain of the Ursulines only
confirmed his aspirations and longings for the religious life,
Four years later he was en route for a monastery of Trap-
pists in Kentucky, where in due time he pronounced his
vows under the name of Brother Bernard, His successor in
the hermitage of the monastery was Father Jean Denis
Daulé, one of the French refugees welcomed to Canada, while
in 1793 the bloody guillotine was felling by hundreds its
victims from the sanctuary.
Father Dauié was born in Paris, and manifested at an early
age his ardent piety by seeking admission among the rigid
disciples of La Trappe ; but the delicate frame of the stripling
and his jovial humor were not found suited to that austere
order, The same qualities were not incompatible with the
390 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
priestly office to which he was ordained in 1790, while the
darkened horizon already foreboded the storm destined to
ravage the fair land of France, destroying its sanctuaries,
deluging with blood the steps both of the throne and the altar,
Among the eight thousand priests, who escaped the massacre
which threatened them, by fleeing to England while terror
reigned supreme in Paris, some thirty found means to reach
Canada, Here the peaceful field of parish or missionary
labor was opened to the exiles, and proved as beneficial to
the country as it was consoling to themselves,
Father Daulé, one of these illustrious exiles, was appointed
chaplain of the monastery in 1806, and continued to dis-
charge the various duties of his office during twenty-six years
to the entire satisfaction of the community,
Heaven had bestowed upon this holy priest the gift of a
tender piety, which retained its freshness even amid the chills
of age and the burden of infirmities. When he discoursed of
spiritual things, the unction of his words was irresistible,
while his zeal for the welfare of the souls committed to his
direction rendered him indefatigable in seeking their perfec-
tion, The pupils were won by his gentleness, as the nuns
were by his sanctity.
Among the means to promote the piety of the pupils, he
employed with success that of associating them to the acts
of divine worship, by the singing of hymns and canticles
which he had composed and set te music; for Father Daulé
was both a poet and a musician. In the isolated life of a
parish priest, he had found a companion and a solace in that
oft derided yet highly sympathetic instrument, the violin.
Under the intelligent fingers of our good chaplain, it seemed
a voice from the spirit-land—but a voice of good spirits only
—while it accompanied the pious hymns dictated by a heart
that felt the force of the double law of charity.
F.\iHER JEAN DENIS DAULE 891
Father Daulé delighted to exercise the pupils to sing at
Mass and Benediction, whereas heretofore the nuns had
mostly the monopoly of singing, using exclusively the plain-
chant of the Church,
As the chaplain’s apartments are situated opposite the
community, it Was not a rare occurrence that the sound of
the favorite instrument accompanying the good Father's
magnificent voice was heard at the hour when around the
monastery all is hushed in the evening silence. The pious
accents telling of a holy longing to be with God, a tender
invitation to holy Communion, a hymn of thanksgiving or
of petition for new graces, could only aid the recollection of
that blessed hour which prepares for the night’s repose,
Father Daulé at sixty began to feel the infirmities of age ;
he was no longer able to fulfil all the duties of his charge.
His sight was failing to a degree that threatened total blind-
ness. With pain and regret the Ursulines parted with their
good chaplain who, however could still render service in
parish labor as an assistant priest.
In 1840, our Father Daulé celebrated, at the Ursulines,
his golden jubilee of priesthood, The church, decorated at its
best, holy Mass celebrated by the venerable jubilarian, during
which there was music worthy of the occasion, a banquet for
thirty invited priestly guests, the whole followed by a little
dramatic entertainment: such was the programme of the
feast which naturally terminated in crowning the veteran of
the sanctuary, who already wore the peerless crown of virtue,
beneath the silvery locks of age.
A few more years rolled on bearing on high their record
of good works; for Father Daulé, in the pulpit and in the
humble confessional, continued to exercise the ministry as
fruitfully as heretofore. He never forgot his former flock
892 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
within the cloister, and when in Quebec never failed to visit
and bless his former spiritual daughters at the friendly parlor
grating.
His last visit was in 1852, At the age of eighty-six the
holy priest could still find a voice to sing a hymn of his own
composing, Beau ciel ! éternelle patrie, while from his sight-
less orbs raised heavenward rolled tears of devotion.
A few months later, and three was a solemn Requiem
mass sung in that chapel, now draped in mourning, where,
during so many years, the saintly chaplain had officiated
with tender piety and holy awe, at the same angust Sacrifice
which was now offered for the repose of his soul,
CHAPTER XVII
‘ 1828 — 1833
A FAMILY OF JUBILARIANS SPEEDILY REUNITED
MOTHERS 8ST. BERNARD AND ST, JACQUES
The venerable Bishop of Quebec, Bernard Claude Panet,.
celebrated in 1828, the Golden Jubilee of his priesthood, The
following year his brother Rev, Jacques Panet completed
also the half-century of his consecration to the service of the
altar, Within the Ursulipe Convent, their two sisters, Marie
Archange and Francoise, in religion Mother St. Bernard and
Mother St. Jacques, attained also the Fiftieth anniversary of
their religious profession.
Let us recall the secona of these occurrences which could
not fail to be a celebration of unusual brilliancy, even without
nnet,.
The
eted
the
farie
and
y of
ould
hout
A FAMILY OF JUBILIARIANS SPEEDILY REUNITED 3893
the presence of the brother, Bishop Panet, who at the age of
eighty, and in feeble health, had lately resigned the pastoral
charge into the hands of an administrator, and retired to the
Hotel-Dieu,
On the 12th of February 1833, Mother St. Jacques, at the
close of her eight days’ retreat, renewed in the joy of her
heart the vows she had faith Sully observed during fifty years,
The Administrator, Bishop Signay, offered the Holy Sacritice,
and addressed the pious jubilarian in an exhortation of which
the theme was: “Quid retribuam a Domino.” What senti-
ment but gratitude to God for all His gifts and graces can
fill the soul on such an occasion ?
When he entoned the 7'e Dewm, his voice was answered
by a numerous clergy who filled the sanctuary, and to these
responded the thirty choir-nuns from the adjoining chapel.
A few hours later, a part of this goodly company was
admitted to the interior of the convent, to witness an
interesting entertainment prepared by the younger Sisters
and the pupils to honor the venerable Mother on this
interesting occasion,
Mother St. Henry, the beloved Superior, leads the way to
the new hall of St, Ursula, which has been decked in festal
style and is filled with the bright and happy faces of the
pupils, who welcome their guests to the sound of gay music,
When seated, Mother St. Jacques occupies the arm-chair
near the Bishop; next to her is her sister, Mother St.
Bernard, the jubilarian of the preceding year. Mother
Superior has taken her seat on the left. Mother St. Mary
(La Ferriére) assistant, Mother St. Catherine (Oneille) zela-
trix,and Mother St. Gabriel, depositary, are mingled with
the company, while a second circle is completed by the other
nuns of the community and the novitiate.
394 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
been introduced, all are soon attentive to the song of greeting
and the congratulatory address,
Let us not attempt to describe the sylvan scene amid
which wander nymphs and goddesses, singing or discoursing
of the beauties of the flowery mead, An animated discussion
ulises as they seek out the fairest of the lovely Mowers, and
entwine a wreath to crown the hervine of the day, Mother
St. Jacques may have recognized the theme which is hardly
new, yet it admits of so many variations that it has all the
charm of novelty, Doubtless she has discovered among the
graceful sylphs many of her kindred: grand-nieces and their
cousins, the Panets, Taschereaus and others.
The morning rehearsal is over; dinner also, in the ban-
nered and tapestried refectory ; but St. Ursula’s hall is filled
again at two o’clock, Mother St. Henry’s devoted friend Lady
Aylmer wishes to enjoy the treat, and she has been gra-
ciously welcomed with the ladies of her suite at the convent
door. We need not follow the company till they retire: Lady
Aylmer is no stranger at the convent nor to the beloved
jubilarians,
Alas! for them, and for us all, if there was not another
Day of Jubilee more lasting than those of earth.
Too soon must notes of joy yield to those of ness. Ven-
erable Bishop Panet, as we have said, was not present at
the morning’s celebration. The evening brought alarming
tidings of a change for the worse in the malady from which
he was suffering. Two days later, aided by the holy rites
which he had so often administered to the dying, at peace
with all the world as well as with his Creator, the aged
prelate passed away, regretted by the clergy and the diocese
he had wisely governed twenty years, mourned by all who
A FAMILY OF JUBILIARIANS SPEEDILY REUNITED 399
knew him, and especially by his two Ursuline sisters,
whose footsteps were now nearing the entrance to the same
dark Valley of Death.
Only four months later, and Mother St. Bernard had
rejoined in heaven her favorite brother, Mother St. Jacques
who had entered the convent a year after her sister, outlived
the loved one twelve months. The last survivor, Rev. Jac-
ques Panet, at the age of eighty years, died at 1’Isiet, two
months after the sister who in religion had borne his name.
Thus the four jubilarians, brothers and sisters, united in
serving God on earth, were speedily reunited in His bosom
for their eternal reward,
A few lines must suffice to characterize these two beloved
Mothers whose memory has even remained fresh in the affec-
tion of the community.
Gentleness and retinement, with the ardent temperament
inherited from their French ancestry sanctified and ennobled
by true piety : such are the outlines of the picture preserved
by tradition not far removed from the present day.
Blessed with health, talents and education, both were
employed successfully in the class-rooms the greater part of
the half-century and more which they gave to the service of
God in the Monastery. To Mother St. Jacques had also been
happily confided alternately the duties of Assistant-Superior
and those of novice-mistress, Their lives had been peaceful
and\innocent,. their last malady was neither long nor p7inful,
All gently the hand of death set free the pure souls of the
sister jubilarians to join the beloved brothers who had pre-
ceded them by so brief a space to that heavenly abode
where there is no more parting.
396 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
CHAPTER XVIII
1834
THE MONASTERY NARROWLY ESCAPES A TOTAL
CONFLAGRATION
Every time the 12th of January has come round since
1834, the nuns after mass are heard joining in the hymn of
thanksgiving: “ Praise ye the Lord, all ye nations ; praise
him, all ye people ? LaupatE DoMINUM, OMNES GENTES.” In
the course of the day, some of the pupils, or the younger
members of the novitiate, are apt to inquire: “ Why was the
Laudate said this morning” ; and the story of the fire is
rehearsed, The most minute details never seem superfluous,
so imminent was the danger and so providential the escape
from a total conflagration.
First, it is explained that an out-house or shed, some
twenty feet long, stood adjacent to the kitchen, on the south
west of the main building St. Augustine’s, serving as a store-
room for fuel and a cold-pantry.
A lighted candle, it is supposed, had been unwarily left
there late in the evening upon a shelf, and burning down to
the socket it set fire to the combustible matter near it. This
fire had been creeping from one smouldering mass to another
for several hours, when it was discovered at two o’clock in
the morning by the crackling sound of the earthen-ware it
had reached in the kitchen, The infirmarian, awakened
from her sleep, had only to step into the corridor to behold
the flames issuing from an aperture in the door of the apart-
1nent beneath. Without losing her presence of mind, she ran
to awaken the sick, and then to warn the nuns in their dor-
THE MONASTERY ESCAPES A CONFLAGRATION 897
mitory, and the boarders who were sleepingin the adjacent
building,
While this was being done and all were dressing in haste, the
convent-bell had sounded the alarm, and the fire, inflaming
the roof of the shed where it had originated, was perceived
in various directions, The convent steward and the domestics
were hurrying in. Our nearest neighbours, Judge Vanfelson
and his son, Hon. Thos. Aylwin and Mr, R, E, Caron,
(later Lieut.-Governor) met in the convent porch the chap-
lain Father C. Gauvreau, and at his request, undertook |
to guard the front door, in order to prevent the crowd from
entering, for the terrible tocsin was ringing and awakening
all the city. Colonel McDougall had called out his troops,
and the convent grounds, although piled with snow, were
filling with crowds of citizens of every class, all anxious to
render service. The seminary priests, J. Demers, L. Gingras,
John Holmes and their colleagues constituted themselves
the special guardians of the Monastery; their day-students,
rivalling with the regular firemen, were so prompt that their
engine was the first brought into action.
In the mean time the pupils had quietly followed their
mistresses to the chapel, to implore the protection of Heaven,
and thence, to the extern school-house, where they would be
in safety from any immediate danger. The nuns, as they
passed with hurried step, dropped on their knees before the
Tabernacle for a moment’s prayer, and preserved their calm-
ness while hastening to save every thing that could be
removed from the apartment~ nearest the danger.
The night was every m inent becoming brighter with
the spreading flames, Now, the guarded conventual door
opens to admit the Governor’s Aide de Camp, who must see
the Mother Superior immediately. Mother St, Henry, calm
398 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
and self-possessed in the midst of the confusion, promptly
appears, and the messenger delivers to her an open letter.
It was a pressing invitation on the part of Lord and Lady
Aylmer for the nuns to accept a refuge in the Castle; the
apartments were already being warmed and put in readiness,
and carriages were in waiting at the conveut door.
But all hope was not yet lost, and on every side the most
vigorous efforts were directed to arrest the progress of the
conflagration. A file of soldiers through the long corridors
. connected the kitchen with the cistern in the interior court-
yard and buckets of water passed rapidly from hand to hand,
The garden-cistern, buried in snow-drifts, was uncovered to
supply the fire-engines working on the outside.
Yet there came a moment when it seemed that the de-
structive element was doomed to have the mastery.
The cellar beneath the kitchen, into which the floor had
fallen, was one burning mass of coals; the infirmary above
it, the attic and the roof were on fire. The refectory beyond
the kitchen where the pine wainscoting and ceiling were as
dry as one hundred and fifty years could make them, was so
filled with smoke that one who penetrated to explore it!
succeeded in making his exit only by creeping on his hands
and knees. He had ascertained that the beams and ceiling
were burning! While the least delay must prove fatal, shouts
from the firemen announced that the pumps were freezing
and could not be worked without large supplies of hot water,
At this crisis—one to make the strongest heart quail in view
of the impending calamity—the loud cry of faith went up to
Heaven : Masses were promised, the pupils were called into
1—The Hon. Judge E. Bedard.
THE MONASTERY ESCAPES A CONFLAGRATION 899
the chapel where many of the nuns had fled to pray, all our
holy Protectors were called upon to help us,
One of the nuns had confided the protecting ribbon of St.
Amabilis to the hands of the chaplain, worthier she thought,
than her own to obtain a miracle; she had also fastened
the precious badge to the door of the refectory, with a
fervent prayer for the preservation of the convent. Another
friend of the Ursulines, transported by compassion and the
extremity of the peril, rushed into the infirmary and there,
prostrate on the floor beneath which the flames were raging,
he prayed like Moses on the Mount with outstretched arms,
invoking the Divine clemency upon the sacred mansion,
every stone of which, telling of past favors, pleaded for their
continuance |,
That mingled concert of sighs, and vows, and prayers, was
heard!
All at once, new energy seemed infused into every heart
and every arm. From one point to another the wild flames
were driven or kept in check, till at length, the most violent
of the elements was under control. At seven o'clock, most of
the engines had ceased to work. People could approach and
look upon the charred remains of the small wooden building
which had put the whole establishment in such jeopardy ;
they could behold the denuded kitchen, with blackened and
creviced walls ; the yawning cellar where smoked the winter’s
provisions ; the refectory, with its ceiling broken in throughout
half its length, and a pine beam that should have burnt like
tinder, only marked by a few inches of charcoal : the infir-
mary without windows, and the roof above the attic partly
consumed,
1—This friend was the Rev. John Holmes.
—.) *
és
"4
J
:
‘
x
a
400 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
It was Sunday, and at eight o’clock, the Convent bell rang
again its signal for mass. Oh! with what grateful hearts
did the nuns and their dear pupils kneel around that altar,
to join the Eucharistic Sacrifice, that adequate thanksgiving
for all blessings, spiritual or temporal.
The convent grounds were still occupied by the troops, in
case the fire should‘again re-appear; but when another hour’s
tranquillity had proved that all danger had ceased, Col.
McDougall, who had declared that he was ready to lose his
life, if necessary in order to save the Convent, gave the
word of command and with a light heart led off his faithful
xiliaries,
The students of the Seminary would not lose so good an
opportunity to manifest their chivalry, Their fire-engine which
won the prize for being the first to render service, remained
all day on the grounds with a guard around it to give assist-
ance in case of need. They probably deemed it a fortunate
occurrence for them that the fire rekindled in the cellar, giving
them an opportunity of proving their good will by working
to extinguish it, During that Sunday and the following
days, visits of congratulation and sympathy succeeded each
other, till it seemed as if all the ladies of Quebec, from Lady
Aylmer to good dame Jalbert, our steward’s wife, had been to
the convent, They must compliment the pupils on their quiet,
orderly behaviour ; they must assure themselves that none
of the nuns have been seriously incommoded ; they must see
the ruins, and only after having been on the spot, could they
fully realize how imminent had been the danger,
Yet, not even the nuns, perhaps, fully appreciated the
protection of Heaven over the Monastery, until, only a fort-
night later, the old Chateau St. Louis which, had withstood
three sieges, took fire at mid-day, and in spite of all the
THE MONASTERY ESCAPES A CONFLAGRATION 401
efforts of the troops and the aid of a dozen of fire-engines,
was entirely consumed,
No! it was not in vain that so many vows had been
offered for the preservation of the Monastery. Bishop Signay
acquitted his promise on the following morning at the cathe-
dral, by singing High Mass which became a public act of
thanksgiving by the crowds who attended. On Tuesday,
another High Mass was sung in the convent chapel, in the
midst of a large concourse, Clergymen showed their sym-
pathy by saying their Mass at the altar, where so many
prayers had been offered in the moment of danger ; and thus
through the octave was manifested a spirit of faith and a
charity, which we love to find the same as in the olden
times.
The accident had only resulted in a comparatively insig-
nificant loss; yet, for the moment, it was an embarrassing
situation, in a family of about one hundred and forty persons,
to have at hand neither cooking utensils, table service, nor food.
Through the delicate attention of friends, and their unbounded
kindness, all these wants were supplied with the utmost
liberality. At the dinner hour: the table, both for the nuns
and the pupils, was spread with profusion. Now it was Lady
Aylmer, sending from the Castle roasted sirloins and choice
viands, the Governor adding his dozen of wine; so that our
nuns feared to resemble the rich man who fared sumptu-
ously every day. Now it was the nuns of the Hétel-Dieu,
with a full measure of wholesome soup and steaming veget-
ables, Allthe more wealthy lad.os in the Upper Town hadtheir
turn in furnishing a repast for the inmates of the cloister,
before a new state of things could be organized, Benefactions
came in various forms; plates and dishes for the nuns’ table,
cooking utensils, coarse linen for kitchen use, provisions,
26
402 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
money: allis duly entered, with the donors’ names, and
many an expression of gratitude, on the pages of the annals.
The Quebec Gazette rendering an account of the fire, made
the following remarks :
“Ina convent of religious ladies, leading a retired and
pious life, such an accident as threatened the Ursulines must
have appeared very distressing. Yet these ladies displayed
courage, activity, and self-possession in the highest degree,
The Governor General had hastened to offer them the Castle,
in case they should be obliged to abandon their house.
Happily, their own intelligent efforts, aided by the zeal and
energy of their friends, prevented the painful necessity of
accepting the alternative.”
Then follows from the nuns a card of thanks, “ most
grateful and sincere, to His Excellency and staff, to the
officers and troops, to the gentlemen of the City Council, the
magistrates, the seminary priests and students, to the fire-
company, as well as to the numerons citizens of every class
for their timely and efficient aid. The religious are most
sensible to the reserve and politeness, manifested by all
towards the inmates of the cloister,
“They acknowledge with gratitude the services of the
watch kept around their goods, as well as around the ruins,
and which was continued till Monday morning, in case the
fire might break out anew.”
The annalist has not forgotten to commend the good con-
duct vu. the pupils, their docility and the cheerfulness with
which they accepted all the inconveniences entailed by the
accident,
the
ins,
the
on-
ith
the
THE TRIPLE FESTIVAL OF JULY 12TH 408
CHAPTER XIX
1835
THE TRIPLE FESTIVAL OF JULY 12TH
In the Church-calendar for 1835, the 12th of July is
annotated as the feast of the Dedication of churches, It is
a hallowed anniversary which moves the devout soul when,
in its contemplations, it beholds the heavenly Jerusalem, Urbs
Jerusalem beata, and traces the similitude between that City
of our God and our Christian temples, whose precious founda-
tion is Christ Himself. But a record of this yearly festival
would hardly have been found on the pages of our annals,
had not some other less ordinary event marked the day.
It was the féte, by anticipation, of the beloved Mother St.
Henry, Superior of the community, and now in her fourth
triennial term of office. Mother St. Henry has just passed the
meridian of life, and for the last quarter of a century has had
no respite from the respousibilities of government either in
managing the temporal] affairs as depositary, or the direction
of the house as Superior, Yet is her countenance radiant
with smiles, as her eyes rest with motherly affection on the
numerous family confided by divine providence to her soli-
citude and direction, To-day however, the Superior’s feast
receives its chief éclat from its concurrence with other joyous
eelebrations, for this twelfth of July is also the occasion
of a diamond jubilee.
It was the sixtieth anniversary of her religious profession
for an aged nun, whose reminiscences extended over all the
period that separated 1759 from 1835. She was there await-
ing in the calmness of soul which is a foretaste of heaven.
the moment to renew he~ vows publicly, even as she had
404 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
spoken them in her heart every day for the last sixty years,
Mother Amable Dubé of St. Ignatius is the same whu as a
child, followed in the 14th Sept., 1759, at a late evening
hour the funeral cortege of Montcalm, when the dead hero
was borne in silence through almost deserted streets to be
buried in the dilapidated church of the Ursulines,
Our readers have seen already that a jubilee festival is one
of peculiar interest and rejoicing within the cloister, But on
this July morning the inmates of the Old Monastery had
other motives for their unwonted gladness. They shared
the joy of the angels in heaven who were exulting to behold
an immortal soul just invested with innocence in the
sight of God, just purified by the saving waters of baptism,
Near the sanctuary railing knelt that youthful maiden
whose white robes and flowing white veil were emblem-
atical of the whiteness of her now happy soul, ‘The holy
sacrifice was being offered at the two altars, beth brightly
illuminated and glowing with rich summer flowers, At the
high altar officiated the venerable Archbishop of Quebec,
Right Reverend Joseph Signay. At the altar of the Sacred
Heart stood the brother of the neophyte, absorbed in the
priestly functions whereby he sought to testify the fulness of
his intense gratitude.
While this happy young girl is waiting to be fed for
the first time with the Bread of Life, let us briefly trace
her history, Since nearly two years Miss Sarah Ann Holmes
had been a pupil of the Ursulines, From her infancy, this
descendant of Puritan forefathers had been taught to rever-
ence the Almighty, to observe His commandments and to
ask His assistance. Often and seriously had she pondered
the question: “ What shall I do to be saved?” but how
‘discover the true road to heaven where so many by-paths
‘were crossing each other on every side ?
red
old
the
sm,
den
em-
holy
htly
the
bee,
cred
the
ss of
THE TRIPLE FESTIVAL OF JULY 12TH 405
Here, while she has been a pupil in the convent, the
Catholic religion has appeared before her in its true light,
not as misrepresented by enemies. At first every thing seemed
strange and unmeaning, but gradually, upon inquiry into the
signification of rites and practices, all appeared reasonable
and consistent, Finally, acting upon the principle which all
Protestants profess, namely, the right to judge for herself in
religious matters, she resolved to examine prayerfully the
tenets of the Catholic Church, and read attentively the little
volume entitled ‘“ A Catholic instructed in his religion, ”
There, to her great surprise, she discovered that the great
truths of Christianity which she had hitherto believed and
which are contained in the Apostles Creed, are all taught in
the Catholic Church, The doctrinal points which were new
to her; the one true Church, the invocation of Saints, purga-
tory, etc, were as fully proved as those. ‘The evidence
flashes upon her, “ But if this be so, I am then in error.”
The fulness of light was not refused to her redoubled and
earnest prayers nor the grace to determine upon following
her convictions, Further instructions soon prepared her to
join that Church which founded upon the “ rock of truth, ”
Christ Himself, can never err nor deviate from the teachings
of its Divine Founder.
Many years previous her brother had been most providen-
tially led to embrace the Catholic faith. The eldest of her
five sisters had been baptized (at Berthier) by that brother’s
own hand, and now, could the secrets of future years have
been unfolded before the brother and sister as their united
prayers ascended to the throne of grace, they would have
seen not long afterwards in that same chapel a younger
sister baptized, who two years later would there consecrate
herself to God, They would have seen another and another
406 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
of the six sisters, after mature research and deliberation, enter
the true fold, till all happily knelt at the same altar, blessing
to their latest breath the merciful hand of God that had so
wonderfully led them from the darkness of error to the full
light of truth
But to return to the cloister where the triple festival of
July 12th is not yet over.
At the mid-day repast, the young convert wearing the
white wreath of her First Communion, has her place among
the nuns, She is seated at the table of honor between the
Superior, Mother St. Henry, and the venerable jubilarian,
Mother St. Ignatius, while the assistant-superior, Mother
St. Mary (Laferriére) entertains two of the Sisters of the Con-
gregation, invited guests on this joyous occasion.
Never had the old refectory, with its oak-pannelled walls, its
brick-tiled floor, its elevated reading-desk and, above all, the
long file ofnuns who on either side, seated at the well-spread
tables, were now smiling and talking, gayly enjoying the con-
vivial hour, never had it presented a more animated scene,
or borne an aspect better fitted to remind one of the Agapes
of the early Christian times.
1—Four of the six converts mentioned here exchanged in
Canada their family name, the eldest becoming in Berthier, Mrs.
Montferrand; the second (the neophyte), at St. Laurent, Mrs.
De Celles; another, at Vaudreuil, Mrs. Edouard Lefaivre, and the
fourth, at Acton, became Mrs. Charles McLean.
Of the other two, the choice of one has been told; the younger
married Mr. William Baldwin of North Stratford, N. H., where she
is happily living at this date (1897). Neither of the survivors can
ever deem herself a stranger in Canada, the land of her spiritual
birth, the home of so many of her relatives bearing the names of
Noiseux, Carmel, Lefaivre, Duchesneau. The only surviving son of
‘Ye neophyte baptized on the i2th of July, 1835, A. D. De Celles,
Esq., bears a name not unknown to literary circles throughout the
Dominion.
THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY 407
In conclusion let us add that the venerable Mother St.
Ignatius, already an octogenarian since eight years, prolonged
her holy life to complete her eighty-eighth year, taking leave —
of her beloved community of thirty-four professed choir-nuns
to join the greater and happier one above, March 27th, 1839,
CHAPTER XX
1639 - 1839
THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY
The preceding pages have displayed before our readers
something of the Monastery’s past; they have seen the pr&
tecting hand of Providence ever extended over it through the
two centuries, from August 1, 1639, to the same date in 1839,
No doubt such an anniversary was one to be celebrated in
the Convent with gratitude and pious rejoicings. The spiritual
renovation to which it manifestly invited was foreseen from
the beginning of the year. The examples of the venerable
first foundresses were made a special study, and the words
of the Apostle, “ Be ye re::ewed in spirit,” seemed to have
their application to every individual soul. But the prepa-
rations carried on in this interior world of the spirit being
intended for the eye of God alone, are mostly invisible to
mortal sight, and scarcely come within the scope of ordinary
observation,
Exterior preparations were not neglected. The chapel
which in 1739 shone forth in its pristine beauty, now needed
some repairs, and the decorations were to be as elaborate as
possible, :
408 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Within the past thirty years however, the walls had been
covered with rare and beautiful paintings from France, which
were a richer ornament than would have been the most costly
drapery or the most skilful combination of artistic embellish-
ments. Our cloistered artists, vying with each other in their
efforts to honor the occasion, put into requisition the pencil
and easel, and every hour of leisure saw the results of ingenu-
ity and good will, Emblematical and commemorative paint-
ings on transparent tissues filled the windows, banners skil-
fully wrought and light banderoles inscribed with appropriate
mottoes, streamed at various heights around the sanctuary,
alternating with festoons of evergreen and blooming wreaths.
The altar presented one bright array of flags and flowers.
Enthusiasi.., moderated by religious feeling,and that solemnity
attached to enjoyments, the recurrence of which cannot be
expected, prevailed throughout the community and reached
its climax on the great day.
The large number of masses celebrated at the three altars,
the skilful execution of one of Mozart’s Masses by the nuns
and the pupils, while at the grand altar officiated the Bishop
of Quebec and sixty clergymen filled the sanctuary ; the
singing of Vespers, the same dignified assembly forming one
choir and the forty-two nuns, the other; the remarkably
appropriate oration, by Reverend C. F. Baillargeon (then
pastor, afterwards Archbishop of Quebec) ; the benediction
of the Blessed Sacrament; the 7’e Deum chanted to the ful-
lest swell of the new organ: these were the principal features
of the day. They were sufficient to mark the commemoration
as one of the most thrilling interest, a day never to be recalled
to mind without emotion by any who took part in its festi-
vities. As at the first centennial, the Communion of Saints
was not forgotten; the dear deceased had their part in the
THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY 409
festival and thirty Masses were offered for their more speedy
admission to the realms of bliss.
The circumstance that reminded one most forcibly of
the changes that Two Hunprep Years had brought was
the absence of the Indian race from the celebration, Was it
not especially for them that in 1639, the Ursulines and the
Hospitaliéres had landed on the shores of a wild and savage
country? The poor aborigenes had been among the first to
reap the fruits of their heroi: charity, but to-day there exist
only scattered remnants of a race destined to a gradual
extinction, Surely no one can reflect upon such a fate with-
out commiseration, nor stand unmoved beside the grave of a
people. In the few rude hamlets that still remain to the
Indians in Lower Canada, the tradition of what the Ursu-
lines have done for them has been preserved, and will pro-
bably perish only with the last of their race.
If we regard the political aspect of Canada in 1839, in
contrast to its early times, we remark that for many a year
no shadow of war had overcast its prospects with gloom.
There had been indeed some recent disturbances; but they
were not wide-spread nor lasting. There were painful
memories in the city of Quebec, of the terrible visitations of
1832 and 1834, which could not be forgotten 1, Yet Canada
was to experience again “that she is a country guarded in a
special manner by Divine Providence: that at the moment
when all would seem lost, there would arise unforeseen succor
and events favorable to its prosperity.”
]—The Asiatic cholera in 1832, made in Quebec 3,451 victims ;
in 1834, 2509, It apres’ a third time in 1849, and again in 1851-52,
ree last apparitions were far less fatal.
and 1854, but its t
410 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
To the nuns the contrast of the present with the past was
of a nature to excite their devout gratitude. In the calamity
just alluded to, that had darkened the land (1832 and 1834),
filling Quebec especially with mourning on every side, the
convent had stood unharmed, proving once more the salubrity
of the site chosen for the home of the Ursulines by their
incomparable foundress, and manifesting the kind protection
of Heaven over an institution devoted to the most beneficent
of works, the instruction of youth.
Within a few years also the same kind Providence had
brought them a signal protector, “a second founder, ” in
the person of their revered chaplain, Reverend Thomas
Maguire, Vicar General of the Diocese of Quebec, to whose
merits the Bishops of Canada had lately rendered a striking
homage by twice deputing him ona voyage to Europe on
business of importance to all the country,
To him the Ursulines with their ecclesiastical Superior,
had confided the temporal affairs of the monastery, and to
his intelligent investigation, his patient and laborious research,
his foresight and firmness, his experience, his spirit of order
and economy, they were happy to ascribe the prosperity
which had succeeded to a labyrinth of pecuniary difficulties.
We shall close this brief account of the bi-centennial cele-
bration by two lists which may prove of some interest to our
readers,
The first is a list of the Superiors who have presided over
the destinies of the community from 1739 to 1839.
The 11th Superior Mother Migeon of the Nativity elected first’
in 1735, was re-elected and governed till 1741; also from 1753
to 1760.
12. Mother Geneviéve la Grange of St. Louis; from 1740 to 1744.
13. Mother Geneviéve Boucher de St. Pierre ; from 1750 to 1753.
14. Mother Esther Wheelwrigut ofthe Infant Jesus; from 1760 toe
1766; 1769 to 1772.
THE COMMUNITY IN 1839 411
15. Mother Margaret Davanne of St. Louis de Gonzague ; from
1766 to 1769; 1772 to 1778; 1781 to 1787.
16. Mother Antoinette Poulin of St. Francis; from 1778 to 1781.
17. Mother Marie Charlotte Brassard of St. Clare; from 1787 to
1793.
18. Mother Marie Louise Taschereau of St. Francis Xavier; from
1793 to 1799; 1805 to 1511; 1815 to 1818,
19. Mother Marguerite Marchand of St. Ursula; from 1799 to 1805 ;
181] to 1815 (deceased in oftice.)
20. Mother Mary Louisa McLoughlin of St. Henry; from 1818 to
1824; 1830 to 1836.
21. Mother Julie Berthelot of St. Joseph ; from 1824 to 1827.
22. Mother Marguerite Boissonnault of St. Monica; from 1827 to
1830.
2°, Mother Adelaide Plante of St. Gabriel, elected first in 1836,
re-elected in 1839,
THE COMMUNITY IN 1839
COMPOSED OF THIRTY-EIGHT PROFESSED CHOIR-NUNS
Professed in
Mothers Francoise Giroux des ANges.......scccsscesseceseceesseeeever 1787
Geneviéve Berthelot of St. Joseph......serececcees seeeces 1792
Angelique La Ferriére of Ste. Marie.......ccsecesesereceee 1797
Marie Lse McLoughlin of St. Henry... ....0...seeee anaaaks 1800
Marie F. Aubin of St. Antoine........cccccssscseceeee seeceee 1802
Marie Thérése Oneille of Ste. Catherine..........-s000 .-. 1803
Marie Louise Oneille of Ste. Gertrude.......co-esseereeeee 1804
Marie Thérése Lyonnais of Ste. Claire.........sescereeeee 1809
Sophie Rose Fiset of Ste. Elisabeth.........ssesseesseeeeee 1810
Geneviéve McKutcheon of St. Helen...c.,...s00.sseeeee 1811
Margaret Cuddy of St. Athamasius......66 -csssesscsseeeee L811
Marie Angéle Morin of Ste. Pélagie. ..... tas cocecveonsevses 1813
Marie Marg. Boissonnault of Ste. Monique......ccsreseee 1815
Adélaide Plante of St. Gabriel.........sscccoseses seeseseseeee 1815
Elisabeth Montreuil of St. Augustin...... tea soceee see veceee 1817
Catherine Couture of Ste. Ursule.......... thenedeavenvinens . 1818
Catherine Coté of Ste, AQMaS....cccercesseesceesesceeseceesece 1818
Marie Archange Point of Ste. Madeleine.........-..006 1818
Marie Louise Bourbeau of St. Stanislas.........000. +++ « 1818
Isabella McDonnell Of St. ANArew, , wcscsccecoveeeseeeres 1823
412
GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
Professed in
Mothers Marguerite Perreault of Ste. Agathe .........+0cce-geseeeee 1824
Sisters
Sisters
Elizabeth Harrison of St. Josephi....ssse . ceessseeecesseeees 1824
Louise F. Blais of Ste. Thérése........csscooces sescscecesseeee 1824
Catherine McDonald of St. Louis......sscccoseecees coeseeee, 1825
Cecilia O’Conway of the Incarnation.,......05secsse.ecerseee L825
Mary Ann Barber of St. Benedict..........cc0ssseeeserseeee 1828
Ann Barber of St. F. Xavier....ccccsccssssevesereeree seveeee 1829
Ann McDonnell of St. John the Evangelist,........... 1828
Christine Vermette of Ste. Angéle........sccceeceees ceeee . 1829
Ann Victoria White of St. J. de Chantal................. 1830
M. J. de Chantal | étourneau of St. Paul.......... ve eveee 1830
M. Theresa Sherlock of St. Scholastica.......6 ....:0000 1831
Marie Louise Aylwin of St. Philip........... seadesuWerenies. 100m
Séraphine Truteau of Ste. ANNC......s.ccccrereceee covsseee 1884
Joséphine Michaud of Ste. Cécile........seeereees teen veosee 1835
Catherine Burke of St. Thomas.........cceesccseesescessseees 1835
Emilie Dechéne of St. Francis Borgia......... rovece oeseees 1836
Catherine Murphy-Kelly of St. Philomena...... assevesese 1838
Three white-veiled novices
Elisabeth Dechéne of St. Louis de Gonzague.
Josephine Holmes of Ste. Croix.
Marie Lucie Deligny of Ste. Winefride.
Twelve professed lay-sisters
Professed in
Francoise Leclerc of St. Alexis....... bsiaeeseess so ceee Sdisweve 1803
Judith Bilodeau of Ste. Rose .........sceseses eeeeeeecsees eeee 1807
Madeleine Boulet of St. Regis........scccocecssssssesceeeeeeee L812
Thérése Couture of St. Demis.....,...sssecsecsereceessereeees L812
Marie Anne Briére of St. Ambroise........scssesssceeeeeeee 1815
Geneviéve Lacroix uf St. Nicolas .........scseeee PPO OST AY: 1816
Claire Lefévre of St. Claucle.......ccssessscscceceve seseseccees 1831
Basile Ratté of Ste. Gemevieve ......... cccccccs stecserseeees 1822
Francoise Fournier of St. Clament........0sesereveereseseeee 1824
Modeste Gagnon of Ste. Thécle.........ccccceseesersecsseees 1825
Madeleine Bodin of Ste. Marthe........cccocseseeceeees couse 1830
Frangoise. Berniche of St. Hyacinthe.......,..00+0+6+ seveeee 1836
Total: fifty-three.
CO Ww WA Ow
PATRONS OF THE URSULINES 413
CHAPTER XXI
PATRONS OF THE URSULINES
HOUSES OF THE ORDER
When a youthful candidate for the religious life has been
admitted to the interior of the cloister, one of the first asceti-
cal books presented to her study is the “ Directory of
Novices,” the guide-book in the new world to which she is
being introduced, She peruses its pages with mingled curiosity
and admiration ; but nowhere, perhaps, does she feel more
impressed with the angelic life that is set before her, than
in the chapter that treats of her duties towards the inhabit-
ants of heaven, the Saints,
“ The religious soul, says her guide, having abandoned the
world and forgotten, according to the advice of the Psalmist,
‘her people and her father’s house,’ enters into a strange
land, contracts new alliances, and becomes as the Apostle
says, ‘a fellow-citizen with the saints.”
“This should inspire her with respect, confidence and
devotion towards all the inhabitants of the heavenly Jerusa-
lem, with whom she has henceforth the privilege to be
associated,
“ The Blessed Virgin is to be honoured as her first and
principal Superior; St. Joseph as the special patron and
protector of the Monastery of Quebec; but there are other
patrons of the order with whom it behoves her to form acquaint-
ance, These are St. Augustine, St. Ursula and St. Angela,
She must study their lives, imitate their virtues, and have
recourse in filial coi .sidence to their intercession.
——_—
414 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
“ Thus, continues her guide, making the Saints thy com-
panions, thou shalt attain sanctity ; and having thy con-
versation more in heaven than upon earth, thou shalt
thyself become like the Angels.”
Encouraged by these magnificent promises, she resolves to
study the lives and examples of her holy patrons, She has
not failed to hear already of St. Augustine, one of the
brightest geniuses of the early ages of the Church, The
rule he composed for the monasteries of his time, the fourth
century, and which is still followed by many religious orders,
has formed as many saints, perhaps, as it contains letters.
Wonderful legends, leading back to the fifth censury, sur-
round the name of St. Ursula ; legends illustrated by painting
and sculpture, and celebrated by monuments as enduring as
they are majestic and venerable. The historic church of
St. Ursula and her thousands of companions stands at a
short distance from the beautiful cathedral of Cologne: the
Field of the Martyrs is not far away, and the golden cham-
ber, piled high with many a ‘gilded casket, enclosing their
relics, is open to the devout or the inquisitive visitor.
As to the stupendous events handed down to us by the
legend, some may adopt that version which gives to the
princess Ursula the Isle of Albion as her home, and the land
of Brittany as the term of her voyage ; the assembling of so
many young girls around her is then explained as the result
of a compact between the prince of Cornwall, her father, and
the late conqueror of Gaul. Others may prefer that more
marvellous and fascinating narrative, which tells of stranger
vicissitudes; of long negotiations, of celestial visions, by
which the future martyr is warned to prepare by a long
pilgrimage for the glorious but bloody fate that awaits
her, On either hand we have the same catastrophe; the
arrival of the voyagers on the banks of the Rhine at
PATRONS OF THE URSULINES 415
Cologne, the presence of the barbarous cohorts of the Huns,
and finally the martyrdom of the virginal troop by those
vindictive and ferocious warriors disappointed of their prey.
Leaving the field of conjecture and discussion, we find
St. Ursula honored as the patroness of learning and piety,
long before the religious order bearing her name arose in the
Church, Cologne itself was the centre of a great confraternity
in honor of the virgin-martyr, under the title of St. UrsuLa’s
Bark,
The renowned University of Sorbonne founded in the 13th
century was placed under the patronage of the same great
princess, whose wise precepts and fervent exhortations had
guided her youthful charge so effectually, that in the direst
extremityof peril, they all remained faithful to their duty
and to their God.
The prerogative ascribed to St. Ursula, making her the
patroness of institutions of learning, renders it easy to ac-
count for the choice St. Angela made of her name in found-
ing an order exclusively devoted to the pious education of
female youth. The humble foundress, at the same time, had
found the means to avoid leaving her own name to her
followers, who will not be known as ANGELINES but as
URSULINES,
The new institution of St. Angela, the first of the kind,
known in the Church, dates from the year 1535; its cradle
was the ancient city of Brescia, in the north of Italy.
The foundress was born in the little town of Desenzano,
on Lake Garda, six leagues from Brescia, of parents rich in
piety and virtue more than in the wealth that perishes with
its possessor, In those precious years when the future lot of
children is shadowed forth by the formation of their character,
Angela was edified by the bright examples of a truly Chris-
416 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
tian household; her faith was strengthened, and she began
from that tender age to walk in the ways of wisdom and
sanctity.
Trials came early to wean this soul from every earthly
attachment, An orphan, and bereaved of an only sister, she
was not abandoned; kind relatives continued to protect her
childhood till its promise of excellence ripened into the prac-
tice of every virtue,
Passing unnoted the various incidents of a life mostly
serene, and at all times pure and blameless, we hasten to
remark the circumstances that accompanied the founding of
the new order,
It was in a vision that Angela, like the prophets of old,
first learned what great things God demanded of her, A
mysterious ladder, reaching from earth to heaven, was
displayed before her; troops of virgins appeared mounting
the steep ascent, each one being attended and aided by a
bright-winged Angel. The words, “ Angela, thou shalt live
to found an order of Virgins in the Church, of which this
spectacle is the figure,” struck her wondering ear and the
celestial vision disappeared,
The enterprise seemed so far above her strength that
Angela hesitated long and waited for further intimations of
the Divine Will. She only undertook its execution after
repeated consultations with her ecclesiastical superiors, and
when, by a new communication from Heaven, she had learned
that further delay would not be acceptable to God.
Already the companions of the saintly maiden were her
associates in good works, visiting the sick, succoring the
poor, comforting the distressed. To these practices, Angela
now joined the instruction of youth ; and gradually there
assembled around her a company, filled with the noblest zeal
for their own perfection and the salvation of souls. The new
PATRONS OF THE URSULINES 417
congregation received its first rules and its twofold object from
the venerable foundress ; it was a legacy of inestimable pric».
Alas! the earthly career of the virgin of Brescia was driw-
ing toa close. Having given the first impulse to the or ler,
she seemed, like holy Simeon of old, to have lived enough,
But even during the few years that she was spared to direct
her spiritual daughters, their number had increased to sixty.
Like Moses, on the borders of the Promised Land, she fore-
saw the wounderful multiplication of her institution and the
blessings that were destined to crown her labors, With
calmness she bade adieu to her beloved daughters in Christ,
plainly foretelling the stability of the order which she declared
would endure to the end of time,
It is not within the brief limits assigned us here that we
can trace the truly wonderful extension of the Order, first
through Italy, then to France and to the other countries of
Europe, till, at the close of the eighteenth century, the revo-
lutionary tornado found over three hundred houses to destroy
in the kingdom of France alone.
The opportuneness of the institution of the Ursulines has
been often remarked. It was at an epoch when the perils
of new doctrines, the scandal of great and public defections,
rendered more necessary than ever the solid instruction of
youth in the tenets of the true Church, The heart of woman
especially, to whose guidance, the souls of men, during the
plastic season of childhood, are confided, needs to be a fount
of wisdom and piety. It cau only become that “ spring of
living water,” fit to profit others to eternal life, by being
itself saturated with the dews of heaven,
It remains to state the extent of the order of St. Ursula
at the present day. A list of the principal monasteries in
France, where they had been swept away just before the
27
418 GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
commencement of the nineteenth century, would show that the
arduous task of restoration has been crowned with a success
truly providential, More than one hundred and fifty con-
vents, inheriting the spirit of St. Angela like their predeces-
sors, continue the pious labor of the iustruction of young
girls; some of them on the very sites whence the persecuted
Ursulines were driven into exile, or led to martyrdom },
In America, including the two Spanish communities of the
[sland of Cuba, and three in South America, there are about
thirty convents of Ursulines, In Ireland, there are four; in
England, three; in Belgium, thirty-two; in Rome, there are
two, while in other parts of Italy, in Holland, Austria,
Germany and the rest. of Europe, are others to the number
total of about three hundred. These convents assemble, it
is calculated, as many as twelve thousand religious, who
impart the benefits of a pious and solid education to at least
one hundred thousand young girls,
If, in conclusion, we might express the most ardent wish
of our heart, it would be that the words uttered by a vener-
able member of the Catholic hierarchy might ever and in all
countries find their just application in reference to every
pupil of the Ursulines. The words were these: “I never
knew a lady educated in an Ursuline convent, who was not
the instrument of diffusing piety and happiness around her 2.”
— eee
1—Twenty-five Ursulines, in France, had the supreme honor and
happiness of sealing with their blood their fidelity to their duty and
their religion.
2—Words of Rt. Rev. John England, Bishop of Charlestown,
S. Carolina.
REMINISCENCES
OF
FIFTY YEARS IN THE CLOISTER
URSULINE CONVENT,
THE
W OF
BIRDSEVE VIE
of its foundation
iSSG
Pa
D
-
uv
-
~
7
N
on the
250th anniversary of
on the
REMINISCENCES
MIPTY YEARS IN THE CLOUSTER
1839 - 1889
‘* Sweet is the remembrance of joys that are past,
pleasant and mournful to the soul.’’—OssalIn.
A SEQUEL
TO
GLIMPSES OF THE MONASTERY
BY THE SAME
A. M: D. G,
QUEBEC
PRINTED BY L. J. DEMERS & FRERE
30, De la Fabrique street
1897
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Imprimatur,
30 Sept. 1897.
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
FROM THE PAST TO THE PRESENT
Introductory.........sceseree soccssessceees
CHAPTER II
SUPERIORS FROM 1839 To 1872
MOTHERS S17. GABRIEL AND ST. ANDREW
Biographical sketches........
CHAPTER III
VERY REV. THOMAS MAGUIRE, VICAR GENERAL
CHAPLAIN OF THE MONASTERY DURING NINETEEN YEARS |
Brief notice of his life and services......cc.scsesssessseoe vetsevualsenete: ke
CHAPTER IV
IN MEMORY OF OUR JUBILARIANS AFTER 1839
Mothers Marie des Anges, St. Helen, St. Nuizabeth, St. Atha-
nasius, St. Ursula, St. Agnes, St. Francis Xavier, St. John,
Bb RUMOL Ass icicacessicacvss
vr
CHAPTER V
1839-1842
MOTHER ST. ANDREW'S NOVICES
Sisters St. Cecilia, St. Thomas, St. Frs. de Borgia, St. Philomena,
St. Louis de Gonzague, St. Winifrid........ eeveeseess 077 00d see soeees 33
VI CONTENTS
CHAPTER VI
PIOUS ASSOCIATIONS INTRODUCED
PAGES.
The Holy Childhood, St. Angela's Church in China, ........000008 45
CHAPTER VII
1846
SODALITY OF THE CHILDREN OF MARY
Close of the month of Mary, Fiftieth year of the Sodality,....... 51
CHAPTER VIII
ANOTHER MARY OF THE INOARNATION
Miss Cecilia O'CONWAY ........cteecee ceeeeen ee teneee as diceesSassesdeieveedsecs: 500
CHAPTER IX
THE MISSES MARY AND ABIGAIL BARBER
In religion Sisters St. Benedict and St. Francis Xavier........... 62
CHAPTER X
1849
FROM QUEBEO TO GALVESTON
Mothers Jane de Chantal and St. Thomas ; the journey and the
TOCUIT.....c0rscccreeesreesscoeseececsccoesscccaccorteeses secscsecessecee roscoe TU
CHAPTER XI
1854
REV, GEORGE I, LEMOINE, CHAPLAIN
His services during thirty-five years, .....ceccscsscscecsseseeeesrevsecees 19
CHAPTER XII
THE CLASS IN NATURAL PHILOSOPHY AT AN EXAMINATION, 1874
Names of the pupils.—Their experiments ........,ssecsesereeseeseeeeee 89
78S,
45
62
TU
79
89
CONTENTS Vil
CHAPTER XIII
1860-1879
ROYAL VISITORS
PAGES,
Visits of members of the royal tamily—The Marquis of Lorne
and Princess Louise.—The ode of welcome and address,... 94
CHAPTER XIV
MOTHER ST, MARY née ADELE CIMON
Her youth—Her services—Her administration as Superior
CHAPTER XV
SUPERIORS FROM 1875 TO 1889
MOTHER ST. GEORGK AND MOTHER ST. CATHERINE
Biographical sketch Of @ach........ccccccsecscece terse seeeense teens vareees 108
CHAPTER XVI
1882-1884
CONVENTS AT ROBERVAL AND STANSTRAD
Journeys and installations.......cccccscsseees vee Meese seen wuneseernenseys 15
CHAPTER XVII
VISITS OF ENGLISH GOVERNORS TO THE URSULINES
Other distinguished visitors.....cccccssssesoscrosrecesessececcesessssssserss 128
CHAPTER XVIII
CHILDREN OF MARY UNDER THE BANNER OF ST. URSULA
Lines on the death of SisterSt. Stanislaus Plante.—Brief notices
of several of these young Sisters........cccescccseseeeeereeereveeees 132
CHAPTER XIX
GOLDEN JUBILEES OF THE LAST DECADE, 1879-1889
Mothers St. Jane de Chantal, St. shat St. Sc pospraiee St. eERIND:
St. Anne, St. Philoments ...-ccccececeseeen sonees ATTYTE » 146
VIIL CONTENTS
CHAPTER XX
OUR VENBRABLE CHAPLAIN’S SACERDOTAL JUBILEE HERALDS
THE PEACEFUL CLOSE OF A HOLY LIFE
PAGES,
Poem on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee. Last illness of
our venerable Chaplain, his death........ desesces secenseiaenves seoee LO4
CHAPTER XXI
BETHANY IN THE URSULINE CONVENT
Martha and Mary, types of the two orders, the lay-sisters and
the choir-sisters in Ursuline Convents........cceccsseeers soveeeees 171
CHAPTER XXII
THE 250th ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE MONASTERY
Concluding remarks.— Lists, Superiors since 1839,.—Protessed
nuns forming the community in 1897........c.cccee cee seeees coeees 176
ILLUSTRATIONS
1.—The Ursuline Convent at the present day, facing the
title page.
2.—Corner of the Play-grounds, Boarder’s department, page 89
171
176
89
REMINISCENCES
OF
FIFTY YEARS IN THE CLOISTER
1830 IS89
CHAPTER I
FROM THE PAST TO THE PRESENT
INTRODUCTORY
On the first of August, 1839, the Monastery was celebrat-
ing the fourth of those great epochs, a period of fifty years,
of which at the present date (1897) it reckons five. The last
pages of the “Glimpses of the Monastery” related the pro-
ceedings on that occasion, and now it is expected of us to
set forth on @ similar plan the scenes of the last fifty years,
all of which are within the grasp of memory, It is no longer
the mingled threads of tradition we have to unravel, nor the
brief records on the pages of the annals that will be our
sole guide, but we can now tell of “ what we have seen and
testify to what we have known”,
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REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
It will be the travel from one golden mile-stone to another
from 1839 to 1889, with the companions of the way and the
various incidents of the route. One after another the com-
panions of the morning hours disappear, to be replaced by
others, of lighter footsteps perhaps, but of less familiar fea-
tures, till the whole company press around the one solitary
survivor of that morning start and question her of the past.
The request is heard with willing ear, for the aged love to
recall the memories of their early years, It is no longer in
“rosy dreams,” as in youth, that they place their delight,
but they view with pleasure the distant landscape, the hills
and valleys which they have left behind, and which in
imagination are still peopled with all that made them
delightful, or sad, or impressive, when the journey was being
performed.
Among these companiens of the way, none are so con-
spicuous as the leaders, hence we shall open this book with a
biographical sketch of the lives of two Superiors to whom
was entrusted the government of the monastery from 1839
till 1874, The two spiritual guides whose services extended
over the whole half century have not been forgotten. WNei-
ther have we omitted the names of some of the laborers in
the vineyard of the Lord, whose arrival in the field seemed
providential, nor of others whose prolonged services demanded
this distinction. The names of these and of other younger
members of the cloistered family whose briefer career has
been noticed, are remembered in many a happy household ,
both in Canada and beyond the limits of their native land.
In short, pursuing the familiar theme of convent life, we
have noted such events as occur to vary the scene, Thus we
initiate our readers into the secrets of the cloister, where, as
Faber says of those who live habitually in a state of grace,
‘allis peace and contentment, while thoughts of heaven
FROM THE PAST TO THE PRESENT 3
and the hope that its joys will one day be ours, draw us
already with magnetic force into the spheres of its abounding
happiness,” .
If an occasional page in verse is inserted, it is to complete
the narrative and give coloring to the scene of which it forms
a part. As will be observed, these verses were not written
with a view to their publication, To such of our readers, as
were once pupils in the Convent, they will serve to recall
more vividly with all its associations some day in the old-time
school-life, imprinted on memory’s tablets, to be cherished
as long as that faculty retains its power of giving pleasure.
And here, before we quit the date of the 200th year, August
1. 1839, we shall revive the colors of that distant picture
by a fragment of the poem which one of the nuns of that
day has chanced to preserve, and which will enable the reader
to judge what enthusiasm prevailed on that occasion.
This is the day. ’Tis now two hundred years!
Lift! lift the curtain. Lo! the scene appears.
Wild is the prospect round, where rises bold
Cape Diamond’s crowned crest, mid forests old ;
Home of the swarthy tribes, while ages sped
Ere yet was heard th’invading white man’s tread.
But Champlain came ; and where he set his foot,
A vine sprang up and fixed its hardy root.
A future city, mid the rocks he traced
With winding streets, then on the heights he placed
A citadel, to guard, where proudly waves
The lily flag of France.
The cross that saves
Surmounts a spire and points us to the sky.
But wherefore on this morn this tumult high ?
These light canoes that border all the shore?
Why this parade of arms? The cannon’s roar
Has brought an eager crowd to line the beach
While o’er the waters shouts of welcome reach.
sos
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4 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
Oh! well may joyous crowds come out to greet
These messengers from God’s own Mercy seat !
What were thy thoughts, O thou who didst behold
This land in vision, like the seers of old?
Thou, with the Heart of Jesus for thy stay,
Hast pleaded long to see this happy day.
This is thy land of promise, Eden blest ;
Upon its sacred soil thy lips are pressed.
And thou, dear noble lady! gentle dame,
Whose generous soul with holy love aflame
All earthly joys hast spurned ; behold the field
That waits thy zeal to richest harvest yield.
All meekly joyful; wondering, yet serene
That band heroic view the novel scene.
After this fragment, bringing to mind the younger mem-
bers of the community, who alone would be likely to indulge
in day-dreams, let us introduce by their titles and offices a
few of the rejoicing ones of 1839.
At the head of a community of thirty-eight nuns, Rev.
Mother Plante of St. Gabriel is presented to us, re-elected to
the superiority a few weeks previous to the celebration of
the monastery’s bi-centennial. By her side appears the assis-
tant-superior, the beloved Mother McLaughlin of St. Henry,
more aged, yet still attractive by that look of dignity, intelli-
gence and suavity which constantly won the hearts of all
who knew her. The third officer, the zelatrix, is a gentle,
frail-looking nun whom we name Mother O’Neille of St.
Gertrude.
The fourth of the “higher seven” who compose the coun-
cil is Mother St. Andrew, recently the incomparable novice-
mistress, of whom our readers will yet hear more, At present
she has charge of a busy office less congenial to the pious mind
than some others in the convent, which gives her the title of
bursar or depositary.
FROM THE PAST TO THE PRESENT 5
Among all these thirty eight professed choir-nuns, there
is but one jubilarian, Mother Giroux des Anges, while not
far away in rank is the amiable Mother la Ferriére of Ste.
Marie who now presides at the novitiate.
Our readers will soon have an opportunity to form an
acquaintsnce with these young Sisters, the novices, as they
will also with the well-beloved Mother.
A few names and titles, and our introductions will be over.
Here let us present the mistress-general of the boarders,
Mother Couture of St. Ursula, as dignified as she is bene-
volent, Mother Vermette of St. Angela and Sister Dechéne
of St. Francis Borgia, first and second directresses and
teachers of the boarders, The half boarders’ department is
under the superintendence of Mother St, Athanasius, and
the day-school under that of Mother St. Helen, with a good
staff of teachers, for in both these schools the pupils were
numerous.
After this rapid view of the personnel of the community
in 1839, we might make a longer pause in the midst of that
moving population, the pupils’ department of the institute,
There many of our readers would discover by her maiden
name an aged grand-mamma, a grand-aunt or some aged
friend of the family, who allows no one to ignore the fact
of her having spent some years a boarder in the convent.
If the school-days of that aunt or that grand-mamma
included the celebration of the bi-centennial, she remembers
the convent building of those days, which seems almost lost
to-day in the many additions it has received.
Yet will it be found that the same spirit reigns to-day as
in the olden times. The convent is that “ garden enclosed ”
over which the heavenly guardian ever watches with tender
care and loying predilection,
6 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
CHAPTER II
SUPERIORS FROM 1839 To 1872
MOTITERS ST. GABRIEL, AND ST. ANDREW
It seems natural to unite here under one heading the
names of two Mothers who governed the community so
many years in the same spirit, guiding St. Ursula’s bark
alternately with the same firm and gentle hand, the same
uniform kindness and charity. Who then was this much
esteemed, much beloved Mother St. Gabriel? Her family
name was Adélaide Plante; she was born in the parish of St.
John (Isle of Orleans), of highly respectable parents, who
cultivated their own farm, and brought up their children in
the pure principles of our holy religion. After her first
Communion, and an elementary education in the parish-
school, Adelaide was sent during two years to our convent
_where she continued her studies.
At sixteen, she alre dy wore the white veil as a novice,
the gayest of the gay, in that nursery of cheerfulness and
religious fervor, the novitiate. Her self-possession, her dig-
nity and aptitude for enforcing the discipline of the school
must have been remarkable, to have warrauted her appoint-
ment as directress of the boarders shortly after her profession.
Yet it is related that if she succeeded in restraining her
joyousness in presence of the pupils, it often happened on
returning to the quiet apartment of the novices, that a hearty
fit of laughter would be silently enjoyed before she could
commence the occupations that awaited her there.
In 1830, she was elected to take charge of the temporal
affairs of the Monastery as depositary; and in 1836, she
| nen, Si <p ea
SUPERIORS FROM 1839 to 1872 7
was chosen for Superior, replacing the able and beloved
Mother St. Henry, whose second term of office had expired,
The Convent which since one hundred and twenty years
had preserved the same dimensions, no longer afforded
sufficient room nor conveniences for the yearly increas-
ing number of pupils. Mother St. Gabriel’s first care
was to provide the half-boarders with a separate depart-
ment for their classes, by the erection of a new building
named St, Angela, along Parlor street. The same year, the
house known as Madame de la Peltrie’s, which, although it
had been enlarged, was still insufficient for the numerous
pupils of the day-school, was demolished and rebuilt. Mean-
while, aided by the experienced hand of our excellent chap-
Jain, Father Thomas Maguire, the course of studies in the
institution was carefully revised, and a new Order of the
day elaborated.
To the system of examinations by the Mother Superior
and the teachers, which had hitherto prevailed, was substi-
tuted (1837, 1838) as our readers have already been informed,
a semi-public examination, followed by the distribution of
prizes, the Bishop presiding with other members of the clergy.
In 1839, by the advice of the same indefatigable friend of
the institution, Father Maguire, the parents of the pupils
were admitted to this examination and entertainment which
took place in a spacious hall in the new wing, St. Angela.
In 1848, Mother St. Gabriel was again at the helm, ren-
dering her community happy by her judicious management
rnd motherly care, ever animated by the spirit of our Lord
who has declared that “ his yoke is easy and his burden light.”
Before the close of her second term (1853-54), another
building of fair proportions, “ Notre-Dame de Grace ” (120
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8 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
feet by 50) had risen within the cloistered grounds, destined
to afford a separate department for the exclusive use of the
senior division of the boarders,
Another important measure decided upon during Mother
St. Gabriel’s administration, in 1859, was the admission of
the pupils of the Normal School to occupy a department of
the institution, while the programme of instruction was to be
conducted in part by secular teachers. The suitable accom-
modation of these sixty or seventy students ultimately
required the erection of another large building, St. Joseph’s,
in the near vicinity of Notre-Dame de Grace,
But our readers are waiting for a closer acquaintance with
this Reverend Mother, who is evidently held in high esteen
by those who know her best, It would be almost snperfluous
to say that Mother St. Gabriel was at all times and in all
circumstances the model of a perfect religious, animated
with unbounded charity, unfeigned humility, a spirit of faith
which seemed to realize the unseen. In her daily life and
conduct she was the living rule. When before the altar, her
very attitude was an incentive to piety. At the hour of
recreation, her cheerful manner and pleasant smile invited
to innocent mirth and sprightly conversation, while her busy
fingers, responding to her natural activity, were ever engaged
in some useful occupation.
Our Mother cherished above all the privilege of working
for the altar, and following the example of our ancient
Mothers, long before a Tabernacle Society was known in
Quebec, the resources of her energetic chai cter and bene-
volent heart were exerted to supply the poor missionary
with church articles, vestments, flowers, altar linen, &c. Year
after year, as new chapels were built along the Gulf, the
coasts of Labrador, the Saguenay, or the distant posts in the
SUPERIORS FROM 1839 To 1872 9:
wilds of the North-West, Mother St, Gabriel was ever ready
to furnish the equipments for the occasion, If the funds
generously placed at her disposal by the community were
exhausted, there were friends and former pupils to send in
old silks and satins, velvets and ribbons, flowers, &c., know-
ing how gratefully they would be received, and how skil-
fully renovated, until they would be as good as new.
They knew also that while the good Mother and the young
Sisters her willing aids were thus piously engaged, many a
fervent ejaculation would be sent up to Heaven in behalf of
the donors,
Mother St. Gabriel bore lightly the burden of the office of
Superior, neither disheartened by its solicitudes nor elated
by its honors. When persons of rank and distinction visited
the cloister our dear Mother, ever calm and self-possessed,
conducted the reception with all the grace and serenity of
one “to the manner born.” In her intercourse with the
pupils or with their parents, her invariable composure, her
benevolent countenance, the interest she manifested in their
welfare, never failed to conciliate their good will and to
reconcile them to an authority so gentle and condescending.
Before pursuing further our notice of Mother St. Gabriel’s
long and useful career, let us introduce her colleague in office,
whose name is equally dearand venerated in the community.
Mother St. Andrew, known in the world as Isabella
McDonell, made choice of the Ursuline Convent to consecrate
herself to God, without any previous personal acquaintance
with the sisterhood, Her then distant home was Glengary,
Canada West. There is, however, a key to the mystery of
this choice of the Old Monastery for her future home.
A few months previous to her decision, there had been
great rejoicings among the staunch Catholic population of
10 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
Glengary, on hearing of the appointment of the first Bishop
of Upper Canada, their Bishop effectually, since he was not
only a Scotchman from Scotland, but a McDonell. The Right
Reverend Alexander McDonell}, was moreover, Isabella’s
uncle, and knew of her desire to embrace the religious state,
while his own most ardent wishes were to secure a foundation
for the new diocese from the Ursuline Convent of Quebec.
This project was not destined to be realized, yet it was
doubly fortunate, inasmuch as it procured the advantages of
the religious life for Isabella and a younger sister who joined
her later, both of whom, by their exemplary lives and ser-
vices, have merited to be gratefully remembered in the com-
munity. Mother St. Andrew had pronounced the vows of
religion in 1823, and her first services were rendered in the
day-school, where English classes had just been opened in
favor of the children of the Irish congregation in the city.
From 1836 to 1842, Mother St. Andrew was charged with
the formation of the novices. From this important office,
the votes of the community called her to succeed Mother St.
Gabriel as Superior.
Of different national origin and in many respects different
in character, they were one in heart and purpose, equally
zealous for the general good and the welfare of each indivi-
dual. Both were eminently conservative, venerating the
traditions of the past, the simplicity and poverty of primitive
times, yet appreciating modern improvements and ready to
introduce them when required, especially in the departments
appropriated to the pupils.
1—From Dumfries, Scotland, born 1762; received the Episcopal
consecration in the church of the Ursulines, Quebec, December
31st, 1820. Created first Bishop of Kingston, 1826.
MOTHER MCDONELL OF ST. ANDREW 11
To characterize Mother St, Andrew, we should describe
her as a person of deep sensibilities, a heart to feel and share
another’s sorrow or happiness; a sound judgment, matured
by experience, a tender and conscientious sense of duty, a
truly religious spirit which guided her on every occasion ;
such is the picture of this much revered Mother, indelibly
fixed in the mind of all who were so happy as to have passed
many years in her society or under her maternal guidance.
It was during Mother St. Andrew’s first triennial term of
office that the pupils, after a public examination and distri-
bution of prizes (July 10th, 1843), were dismissed for a
summer vacation, a measure which has now become a law,
sanctioned by custom and general approbation.
The following years 1844, 1845, the sodality of the Chil-
dren of Mary, made known to us by our beloved Sisters, the
Ursulines of St. Mary’s Waterford (Ireland), met Mother
St. Andrew’s ready approval and was established with the
required formalities,
But at this date, 1845, how can we fail to recall to mind
the awful calamities of the 28th May and of June, when two
successive fires reduced to ashes the homes and comforts
of two thirds of the population of the city, besides distroying
several lives, The suburbs of St. Louis and St. Roch were -
one wild scene of ruin and disaster. ‘ Heart-rending were
the tales of woe heard on every side”, wrote one of the nuns
after the fire. “ All the clergy have their hearts wrung at
the sight of their suffering fellow-beings; the poor Bishop
weeps when he speaks of the tragic scene.”
Deeply the heart of our good Mother felt these woes, too
great to be fully imagined or adequately relieved. Whatever
alms or succor she could bestow was doubled to the sufferers
by her tender condolence and sympathy.
12 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
The pupils of the institution knew how to appreciate
Mother St. Andrew’s invariable kindness, as well as her
solicitude for all that regarded their comfort or their improve-
ment, The sentiments expressed in the address which they
presented her in 1862, on the occasion of the feast of St.
Andrew, Nov. 30th, and which has fortunately been pre-
served, were doubtless as sincere as they were well-merited.
TO REV. MOTHER ST. ANDREW, SUPERIOR
Dear Reverend Mother,
Long our wishes call
This festal day, that gilds at last our hall!
For now, all clustered round thee, we may tell
The feelings kind that in our young hearts dwell,
And speak of gratitude, unfeigned, sincere,
For all thy countless favors, Mother dear !
Who is it seeks with true maternal zeal,
Our present happiness, and future weal ?
Who watches o’er her flock with tender care ?
Whose warning voice would guard from ev’ry snare ?
And when our wayward feet are prone to stray,
Who guides us sweetly back to wisdom’s way ?
Ah! it is thine, dear Mother, thus to blend
The oftices of guardian, parent, friend.
Yes! as the gardener tends with equal care
The various plants that bloom in his parterre;
This from far China, that from India’s shore,
These from the mountain cliff where torrents roar ;
On each bestows the needful time and toil,
Till each unfolds as in its native soil ;
So we transplanted to the cloister’s shade,
The objects of thy special care are made !
Oh! may our minds’ unfolding beauties prove
Some slight return for thy unwearied love !
MOTHER MCDONELL OF ST. ANDREW 13
Here let me pause! ’tis an inspiring theme,
But words, alas ! how very weak they seem,
And how they mock our efforts to portray
All that we feel on this dear festal day !
Ah! let the echoes of this proud hall ring,
While with one voice, as with one heart we sing :
Long live our Mother dear! long live our friend !
May joys unnumbered on her steps attend !
Long may that star of “ purest ray serene,”
Gild with new gladness every convent scene ;
Nor disappear, but brighter still to rise,
And glow with fadeless lustre in the skies!
Meanwhile, as years revolve we’ll hail its gentle ray,
And raise the joyful shout: “ Long live St. Andrew’s day!”
November 29th, 1855,
After filling a second term, Mother St. Andrew was
appointed depositary in lieu of Mother St. Gabriel, and
thus, alternately, she had guided the community twelve
years, when she was elected in 1866, although still suffer-
ing from an illness which had confined her to the infirmary
for some months previous, “ What we ardently desire, we
readily believe,” and thus it was that our beloved Superior’s
recovery appeared so certain,
One short month proved the fallacy of our sweet antici-
pations, Tbe announcement of the approach of death was
sudden, but the venerable Mother calmly welcomed the
summons, and prepared for the departure by calling to her
aid the last consoling rites of holy Church. The grief and
consternation of all the sisterhood, thus unexpectedly called
to part with the Mother of their choice, may be better
imagined than described.
But the dawn of an eternal day was at hand, and with the
evening of the feast of the Blessed Trinity, our venerated
Mother sweetly passed away, cheerfully laying down a life
14 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
which had been wholly devoted to the service of God. Nor
could the Angel of death efface the smile from those dear lips
upon which a blessing for her Sisters seemed still to rest.
Another election,rendered necessary by Mother St, Andrew’s
decease, recalled Mother St. Gabriel to the office of Superior,
nor was she spared a re-election three years later. This eighth
triennial term completed the twenty-four years of her admi-
nistration, the longest period on record among the twenty-
three Superiors who until that date had governed the
Monastery.
To Mother St, Gabriel had been reserved the honor and
privilege of commencing the labors in the cause of the beati-
fication of our first Superior and foundress, Venerable Mother
Mary of the Incarnation, On the 25th of March, 1867, the
first step was taken by the appointment of a procurator ; the
first proceedings of the Commission opened on the 13th of
May. Those who took part in the first proceedings were
sanguine in their expectations of a speedy and successful
issue; but, after thirty years, the happy event is still
waited for yet with ever increasing confidence.
Relieved of the superiority in 1872 Mother St, Gabriel
continued to serve her community in the office of zelatrice
and counsellor, and still plied her needle as in her younger
days, although her failing sight would no longer permit her
to prepare it for use with the all-necessary thread.
Only during the last three years of her long career had
she to relinquish her usual seat in the community-hall and
her favorite place in the chapel. But the infirmary also has
its chapel and altar, There the divine Physician deigns to
visit the sick and the infirm, even as in the days of his
sojourn among men during his mortal life,
Nor
ar lips
o rest.
drew’s
perior,
eighth
-admi-
wenty-
di the
ior and
» beati-
Mother
67, the
or ; the
13th of
3 were
ecessful
is still
Gabriel
elatrice
ounger
mit her
reer had
rall and
also has
eigns to
s of his
MOTHER PLANTE OF 8sT. GABRIEL 15
The end cae gently, and without any violent suffering.
Like St. Paul, our venerable Mother could say: “I have
finished my course. I have fought the good fight, I have
kept the faith ; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown
of justice from heaven.” Her death occurred on the 25th
February, 1888, in Memoriam,
The following lines were written the day after our dear
Mother’s decease.
TO THE SWEET MEMORY OF MOTHER ADELAIDE PLANTE
OF ST. GABRIEL.
’Twas the decline of a long summer's day ;
Hour after hour had slowly rolled away,
And now the setting sun’s rays lingering fell
On tree and hillside, flowery knoll and dell,
As loath to quit a world it made so bright,
And yield its glorious place to sombre night.
An aged shepherd watched the peaceful scene,
But chiefly, on his flock upon the green,
Rested his tender, longing gaze; for there
Was life, with love responding to his care.
Full well his cheering voice each lambkin knew,
Nor ever truant from the fold withdrew
To perish in the wild; but, where he led,
All followed, docile to the hand that bred.
Now the long day was fading in the west ;
The aged shepherd knew his hour of rest
Had come.—Beyond those portals wide,
Where greener pastures laved a crystal tide,
And flowers forever bloom, his place would be
With his dear flock, from every ill set free.
How calm that scene ! and now, mid convent shades,
We ’ll trace another ere the picture fades.
REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
An aged nun awaits the peaceful close
Of her long span of life: its sunset glows.
Like that old shepherd, gazing on the west
She longs to reach the land of endless rest:
Beyond the crystal flood a rapturous sight,
Her faith beholds.—It tills her with delight.
“ When will He come, she cries, the God I love?
When shall I see His face in bliss above?
Faint is my heart with longing to possess
My sovereign Good, my only happiness ! ”
Thus, while our hearts were moved beyond control,
Breathed she the ardors of her parting soul ;
And still upon her flock in mourning near
Would rest her loving eye, dimined by a tear.
Mother beloved! thy course so nearly run
Brings to my mind that time when it begun.
In carly youth thy happy choice was made,
At “ sweet-sixteen.” Within the cloister’s shade
Thy years passed on, noiseless and without strife,
But rich in merit on the Book of Life.
How great was thy amaze thyself to find
Called to high office! In thy lowly mind
L’er thou wast deemed unworthy of the last,
Nor ceased to wonder how the votes were cast.
In many hamlets thou hadst never seen,
Thy name was known, “ the holy Ursuline ”,
And through the breadth of Canada’s domain,
Nay, far beyond, on rising hill, or plain,
Where stands some humble chapel, there behold
Our Mother’s gifts, precious tho’ not of gold.
The holy altar, how she loved to deci !
And, silks and satins,—often fashion’s wreck—-
Her skilful fingers deftly would combine
In vestures bright which costlier might outshine,
Vases and brilliant flowers were next her care,
And linen, white as snow, she must prepare ;
In all, she thought of souls redeemed with Blood !
Oh! how she longed to pour that sacred flood
O’er all the earth! Such fire her heart consumed !
Such love her daily sacrifice perfumed !
VEPY REV. THOMAS MAGUIRE, VICAR GENERAL 17
The cloister’s inmates ever were her care ;
And each was happy in her certain share
Of that affection vast, that knew no bounds,
More than the ocean which the earth surrounds.
No weight of care or toil could dim the smile
We loved to meet benignant, without guile.
Her gentle words and kindness ever true
Dispelled all doubts, inspiring ardor new.
’Twas Charity’s own hand that led the way,
And all is sweet beneath her gentle sway.
Rejoice then, dearest Mother, in thy God !
Thou didst pursue the path the Saints have trod ;
A dazzling crown is thine, O Mother, now,
And well doth it befit thy noble brow !
Protect us still ; and from his gloriou: throne,
Let Gabriel send his blessing with thy own.
‘One day assembled on that happy shore,
We'll praise with thee, our God, forevermore !
Feb. 28th, 1888.
CHAPTER III
VERY REV, THOMAS MAGUIRE, VICAR GENERAL
CHAPLAIN OF THE MONASTERY DURING NINETEEN YEARS
The name of Rev. Thomas Maguire could not be omitted
when treating of education in our convent’ schools on a
preceding page; but a further tribute of gratitude is due to
the eminent services rendered the community during nearly
twenty years by our devoted and excellent chaplain.
Father Maguire’s family history carries us back to the
days of the penal laws, when so many of I[reland’s best and
9 ‘
a
18 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
bravest, preferring poverty and exile to wealth with apostasy,
fled from the land of their birth, “ the green Isle of Erin,”
to the distant but more hospitable shores of the American
colonies,
The ancient and honorable Maguire family was represented
among these exiles “ for conscience’ sake” by Mr. John
Maguire, who having settled in Philadelphia, married there
in 1773 Miss Margaret Shut, a respectable quaker’s daughter.
Their eldest son, whom they named Thomas, was _ born,
May 9th, 1774.
The struggle for Independence, then commencing, would
have afforded the exile a good opportunity for avenging the
wrongs his family had suffered under British rule; but the
loyal Maguire preferred a second exile to revolt, although it
were against the government which had driven him from the
land of his birth. He retired from Philadelphia, and soon
after found his loyalty rewarded by an appointment in the
British Army at Halifax where he was gra Commissary
General,
Faithful to his sovereign “ for conscience, sake,’ John
Maguire was ever the fearless and conscientious observer of
his duties as a Catholic. The religious education of his
children was his first concern, and no sooner was Thomas of
an age to follow the course of studies in a college, than he
was sent to the Seminary of Quebec, where his remarkable
talents, his ardent temperament, his natural intelligence and
love of study, enabled him to terminate the classical course
at the age of eighteen. His choice of a state of life needed
no long deliberation. What vocation but that of the priest-
hood could satisfy the aspirations of one whose heart was on
fire with the love of God, with zeal for the extension of the
faith and a boundless desire to contribute to the salvation of
souls ?
. goon
in the
issary
John
ver of
of his
nas of
1an he
rkable
ce and
course
needed
priest-
was on
of the
tion of
VERY REY. THOMAS MAGUIRE, VICAR GENERAL 19
Even before his ordination (in 1799), his extraordinary
abilities had attracted the notice and won the confidence of
his ecclesiastical superiors, as may be inferred from his
appointment before that date to the confident.» post of
Bishop’s secretary.
A few years later (1806) the important parish of St.
Michael, including Beaumont, was committed to his pastoral
care with its various duties and great responsibilities, Never,
perhaps, were the labors of a devoted pastor more fruitful
or better appreciated. And what sweeter recompense could
the Lord of the vineyard have reserved for his faithful stew-
ard, after the docility of his people through which the whole
aspect of the parish had been changed than the conversion of
his now widowed mother to the Catholic faith? This excel-
lent lady, whose early convictions had been sincere and whose
life had ever been most edifying, had the happiness to embrace
our holy religion before leaving Halifax for St. Michael’s,
where she spent the remainder of her days with her sons,
Rev. Thomas Maguire and Dr Charles Maguire who resided
in that parish. Her death occurred in 1827, at the age of
seventy-five years, and her ashes repose with those of Dr
Maguire, since deceased, and several of his family, under the
shadow of the cross, in the cemetery just near the church
where her son Thomas had so often offered the holy Sacrifice
to obtain the light of faith for his beloved mother,
After the immense services rendered in 1827 and the
following years by Rev, Thomas Maguire in the college of
St. Hyacinth where he is regarded almost as a second founder,
after a journey to Rome in 1831 on business of high impor-
tance to the religious communities in Canada, his nomination,
in 1832, to the office of chaplain of the Monastery was
regarded by the nuns as one of the signal favors of divine
Providence.
20 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
The new chaplain had hardly entered upon the duties of
his charge, when he was required to undertake a second
voyage to Europe, an event of less frequent occurrence in
those days than in ours, on business equally confidential and
of vast importance to the Church in Canada,
This time his absence was prolonged nearly two years,
during which the interests of tue convent, if secondary to
his embassy, were no less faithfully attended to and promoted.
His letters to the Mother Superior and community enabled
them to follow in spirit the intelligent traveller, now to the
tomb of the Apostles beneath the vast dome of St. Peter’s,
where he offered the Holy Sacrifice with emotions too deep
for words to describe; now to the ancient church of St.
Agnes or to the hoary precincts of the Coliseum, Another
day he returns from Naples, having visited the shrine of
St. Philomena, and witnessed the wonders wrought at her
tomb; or he writes still overpowered with emotion as he
recounts the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius which
he has witnessed six times, standing near the altar and exa-
mining with the coolness of a critic as well as the deep
veneration of a Catholic. Other letters from Paris, where
Mother St. Henry’s beloved brother, Dr. McLaughlin, is ever
ready to give substantial proofs of his affection as well as
his liberality, in defraying whatever expenses may be incurred
for the convent, enter into all the details of his purchases
there: class-books, church ornaments, an organ for the chapel,
a harp for the votaries of St. Cecilia.
Many of these letters, inimitable in delicacy of sentiment
as well as in graceful diction, were addressed to the pupils,
for the absent chaplain never lost sight of his relationship to
the inmates of St. Ursula’s cloister, and his chief enjoyment
-consisted in seeking to contribute to their pleasure, welfare,
and happiness,
VERY REV. THOMAS MAGUIRE, VICAR GENERAL 21
It was in this view that he visited the best educational
establishments, the most flourishing boarding-schools, remark-
ing whatever might be useful to his friends under the con-
vent roof, keeping in mind that precious portion of the
Master’s vineyard which there await his vigilant and
fostering care.
At last, the return of the interesting traveller was ar-
nounced, and in August, 1834, his arrival awakened within
the cloister such enthusiasm as could never be forgotten by
those who witnessed or shared the rejoicings,
Entering immediately upon the duties of his charge, the
devout and learned chaplain first concentrated the resources
of his wisdom and his long experience upon the spiritual and
temporal interests of the community confided to his direction,
To maintain the strict observance of the rule and to preserve
undiminished the spirit of the sainted Foundresses ; to rescue
the house from the depressed state of its finances, and to
place the boarding-school upon the footing of the best insti-
tutions on either continent; such was the plan which his
able hand had drawn out for himself, and which he ever
pursued with ardor.
The financial difficulties were of olden date. They had
commenced with the change of political government nearly
eighty years previous, and had accumulated especially within
a few years.
Long hours were passed in examining titles and properties,
debts and spoliations, revenues and expenses, till there only
remained to trace the path to a prosperous issue, through a
practical system of economy and a prudent administration, to
which the authorities of the house were most happy to
subscribe.
The following address presented to Father Maguire on the
feast-day of his patron St, Thomas shows with what enthu-
22 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
siasm the pupils loved to greet the venerable chaplain, whom
they had learned to regard as incomparable for wisdom, learn-
ing, piety and zeal, ar well as for devotedness to their interests
and welfare. On this and on similar occasions, the address
was followed by a song, and by a little dramatic entertain-
ment suited to the season or the circumstance :
A FESTAL ADDRBSS
(On the feast of St. Thomas of Canterbury, patron of our venerable chaplain.)
Heard ye that silvery strain of triumph ring?
Saw ye, descending swift on radiant wing,
That bright-robed angel? who’s the victor now ?
—That glorious crown is for a martyr’s brow !
For thine, heroic son of Albion’s Isle,
Thou of the upright soul, devoid of guile !
. Illustrious Prelate, whose unblemished name
Is wreath’d with laurels of immortal fame.
Vainly did foes insult ; their feeble rage
Moved not the steady purpose of the sage.
Let vile assassins come ; he’ll calmly wait,
True to his trust, and firmly meet his tate.
Oh! glorious fate, to give one’s life for God!
To hold the faith and seal it with one’s blood.
Ask Canterbury now who is her boast ;
Will she proud Henry show, and all his host,
Or the meek martyr?
But wherefore call on heaven
For bright examples holy men have given?
Live there not still the just, the pure of heart,
E’en as the Syrian cedar towers apart,
Resists the storm, and casts a goodlier shade
Where all the forest’s pride is prostrate laid?
Lives there not ong whose merits we revere?
Companions say: ONE whom our hearts hold dear,
Whose cherished name is linked with all we love,
With present joys and hopes of bliss above ;
n.)
VERY REV. THOMAS MAGUIRE, VICAR GENERAL 23
One who has taught our youthful minds to soar
Above those pleasures wor’!ings vain adore ?
Yes, Reverend Father: and might we this day
Attempt thy worth exalted to por‘ray,
What glowing imagery the muse should bring!
How would the Convent’s loudest echoes ring !
But if the garland thus unformed we leave,
A fairer wreath our grateful hearts shall weve,
When, humbly bowed before the sacred shrine,
We join thee at the mysteries divine !
Ursuline Convent, Dec. 2th, 1830,
The regularity and austerity of our chaplain’s daily life
would have suited a Carthusian, yet his vigorous frame and
excellent health seemed not to suffer from the privations and
constraint to which he subjected himself. A benevolent smile
ever lit up his venerable countenance, encouraging the timid
and winning the confidence even of little children.
The youngest members of the community as well as the
elders, were ever received with that perfect urbanity which
inspires assurance while it checks familiarity. It was a
privilege to be sent on a message to our Father’s room. On
appearing at his wicket, he never failed to reward the intrv-
sion upon his solitude by some sprightly remark or amiable
repartee which revealed the habitual cheerfulness of his her-
mit-life,
In the direction of souls, our venerated Father exercised a
rare discernment, and while some were urged with a certain
vehemence to press on with greater alacrity in the narrow
path that leads to perfection, others, more timid, more in
need of encouragement, would listen with comfort to words
which St. Francis of Sales might have addressed to his
Philothea on the love of God.
The eminent sacerdotal virtues of the Vicar General, his
integrity of life and exalted worth are sufficiently proved by
oO fe 2 7
SS
Rib
yt
\
24 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
the confidence placed in him by his ecclesiastical superiors,
and the veneration in which he was held by all classes of
society ; but the inmates of the Monastery may claim to have
known him intimately only to esteem him more highly, as
they witnessed from year to year the wonderful spectacle of
a life of total self-abnegation, a life consecrated, in its highest
sense, to the service of God,
From four o’clock in the morning till ten at night, the
duties of the day succeeded each other with uninterrupted
uniformity; from the confessional to the altar, from the
daily walk down Donnacona Street, or perhaps to the
Seminary, back to the quiet of his plain apartment, when
writing or business for the convent, but chiefly prayer,
marked the passing hours, the months, the years, till our
venerable friend and Father, still erect in frame and agile in
gait, had seen his eightieth birthday.
Thus had nineteen years sent up their safe account to
heavea, when a severe attack of illness on the 18th of July,
1854, suddenly changed all the scene.
Death had laid his icy hand upon the form which age had
not bowed, and bore away the unresisting victim within the
space of thirty-six hours ; but not before the holy priest had
called to his aid the sacred rites he had piously administered
to so many others, These he now received with the simpli-
city of a child, and as the end drew near, he clasped his
crucifix to his breast, and pressing to his lips the medal of
the Blessed Virgin, he softly murmured the invocation it
bears: “ O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us.” That
simple act bore witness to the childlike faith of a great soul ;
“ of such are the kingdom of heaven.”
Thus lived and labored among us that eminent ecclesiastic,
whose vast erudition rendered him a competent judge of the
IN MEMORY OF OUR JUBILARIANS AFTER 1839 25
most intricate questions ; whose credit and ability had been
employed in negotiating matters of the highest importance to
the Church in Canada, and, who before his appointment to
the charge of chaplain of the Ursuline monastery, had thrice
Tefused the pastoral staff and mitre.
CHAPTER IV
IN MEMORY OF OUR JUBILARIANS AFTER 1839
If the royal Prophet has declared that “ one day in the
courts of the Lord is better than a thousand years in the
tent of sinners,” what may not be said of the merit and
happiness of spending so long a period as fifty or sixty years
in the “ House of the Lord ” and in His holy service ?
The convent register at this period, between the dates of
1839 and 1889, presents us with the names of twenty-three
nuas who attained the measure of the Golden Jubilee of
religious profession, Seven of these lived to celebrate the
60th anniversary of their consecration in the monastery ;
while one, our beloved Mother St. Gabriel, prolonged her
vigorous existence to the seventy-second year of her religious
profession.
By a singular coincidence, twenty of these Sisters destined
to live their half century each, entered the convent succes-
sively, were admitted to profession and maintained their
ranks unbroken till each in turn had celebrated her Golden
Jubilee,
First on the list of the jubilee celebrations after 1839
appears the name of Mother Francoise Giroux des Anges,
26 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
born in 1768,-who in 1847, had attained the sixtieth anni-
versary of her profession,
Her reputation as a skilful florist, an artist of unrivalled
skill in Jiiding, was at its height in the early part of the
century, while her zeal for the strict observance of the rule,
for the psalmody of the divine office and for Gregorian chant
in which she excelled, continued to characterize her even
when her advanced age no longer permitted her the success
of former years, Prayer and labor rendered her useful to the
community and agreeable in the sight of Heaven to the end
of her mortal existence in 1849,
Mothers St. Helen, St. Elizabeth and St. Athanasius were
sister-novices who pronounced their vows on the same day
in 1810, and whose religious career might be summed up in
three words: fervent piety, fidelity to rule, meekness and
charity.
Mother St. Helen’s chief services in the monastery have
been mentioned already; those of her companions must not
be totally omitted. Miss Sophie Rose Fiset, whose honorable
family. resided in Quebec, was educated in our classes
from her earliest years, and entered our novitiate at the age
of seventeen. Humble, laborious and exemplary. in piety,
her life in the community was like the course of the modest
streamlet, which noiselessly pursues its way, attracting little
notice, yet bearing blessings to everything within its reach,
To oblige her Sisters by her charitable assistance, to offer
prayers for them and for all the living or dead, seemed to be
quite naturally her duty as it was her delight. When after
a iong illness her end drew near, and she was warned of the
approach of death, her quiet answer was: “The Lord be
praised! I long to see my God and to be with Him forever,”
Another jubilee celebration was that of Mother St. Atha-
nasius in 1861, repeated for the 60th anniversary in 1871,
IN MEMORY OF OUR JUBILARIANS AFTER 1839 27
2
four years before her decease, at the age of eighty-seven, Of
the long and fruitful labors of this aged Mother some
mention has been made in the preceding pages. In the later
years of this venerable octagenarian, when with the feeble
frame, the faculties of the mind were also weakened, it was
a subject of remark and admiration to find the dear old
Mother ever engaged in prayer, yet offering by a sign and a
smile to lay aside her book to receive her welcome visitor,
Her memory seemed to have retained none but the most
agreeable images, Each day was for her the recurrence of some
happy feast or anniversary, and if any one objected that it was
not altogether a fine day, she was quickly answered that
“ the clouds were breaking and the sun would soon shine in
all its splendor.” Happy illusions, which were clearly the
mark of peace of mind and passions subdued,
The two Catherines, Mothers St. Ursula and St. Agnes,
“ united in life, in death were not long divided,”
Born in 1794, and during their early years strangers to
each other, these two pious young ladies entered the novi-
tiate at the same age and pronounced their vows together
on the 15th of May, 1818. The end of their long career of
eighty-five years parted them only for the space of three
months; it was in 1880. They had celebrated together both
the golden and the diamond jubilee of their profession.
Mother Catherine Couture of St. Ursula was a native of
St. Joseph’s parish, Point Levi; Mother Catherine Coté of
St. Agnes, belonged to the parish of St, Augustine, both of
these lovely villages being quite near the city of Quebec.
Apart from these coincidences of names and dates, each of
these dear Mothers is remembered by her own peculiar char-
acteristics and personality.
28 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
—
Until the age of nineteen, Miss Catherine Couture had no
thought of entering a convent. Pressed to give her consent
to another vocation, it then first occurred to her that a choice
of a state of life was a serious matter, and she realized the
necessity of taking time for prayer and reflection. In order
to have an opportunity of judging of the nature of the reli-
gious state, while she would complete her strdies, she passed
a year and a half in our boarding-school, and there decid-d
to consecrate her life to God as an Ursuline,
That this was a happy choice, all who lived with her
might bear witness. During her long and useful career she
was ever the treasure and the joy of her community. In
whatever office she was employed, whether as assistant-
superior, mistress general,infirmarian or seamstress, her charity
was conspicuous over every other quality and perfection. It
wasin the exercise of this godlike virtue that her good heart
found its delight and its proper element. The institute was
the object of her specia! predilection. For the welfare of the
pupils, their progress in virtue, she sti‘l offered her sufferings,
her sacrifices and her prayers when age and infirmities no
longer permitted her to labor among them, Such is the
memory dear Mother St. Ursula left us, when in 1879, at
the age of eighty-five, she passed away from our midst to
join the angelic choirs,
Mother St. Agnes comes to our mind as the personification
of humility, diligence and fervor, in short, as the type of
the interior life. Her health was ever delicate, but sufficed
to carry her through the daily duties assigned in the various
offices confided to her during her long and laborious exist-
ence. Not a moment of time wasted, not the slightest delay
in obeying the signal which calls to the different observances
in the course of the day, not a useless word infringing upon
the sacred hour of silence ; these were the outward signs of
her
r she
In
tant-
arity
», It
heart
» was
f the
rings,
bs no
g the
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st to
ation
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arious
exist-
delay
vances
a upon
igns of
IN MEMORY OF OUR JUBILARIANS AFTER 1839 29
the interior life of Mother St. Agnes. Who can reckon the
amount of merit thus acquired during the space of sixty-six
years spent in the monastery ?
It was a goodly sight to behold these two venerable
mothers receiving the congratulations their sisters offered, as
is usual on such occasions, by that angelic group of little
children, the first communicants, It was. besides, the delight-
ful month of May, when the return of spring with verdure
and flowers, the song of birds and new life every where
-attune the mind to joy and piety. Long years after, when
the realities and perhaps the trials and sorrows of life, have
effaced many of the joyous impressions of youth, the little
ones who have figured in these convent scenes, now changed
to sober matrons, recall with pleasure the name of the jubi-
larians they have crowned, and the companions whose voices
mingled with theirs in the song of greeting.
We shall here merely mention the name of the jubilarian
crowned in 1878, Mother Abigail Barber of St. Francis
Xavier, at the age of sixty-seven, still youthful in appearance
after a lifetime alinost spent in convents, Our readers will
meet this gentle nun, whose ambition was to merit the title
of “ Mary’s lamb,” in the story of the Barber family.
Mother St. John’s name in her family was Anne
McDonald; she was a younger sister of Mother Isabella
McDonald of St. Andrew, whose memory, as our readers
know, is ever cherished among us, Admitted to the novitiate
in 1821, she found her happiness in the religious life for the
next three score years, outliving her beloved sister by a
score, and aving us at her decease as a sweet legacy the
bright example of her holy life.
Gentle and forbearing, as attentive to oblige others as she
was forgetful of herself, her heart ever burning with the love
80 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
of God and of her neighbor, Mother St. John found daily
occasions for the exercise of multiplied acts of these sublime
virtues in the various offices she was called to fill, Her
success in the management of a class was not in proportion
to her desire for the improvement of - her little pupils. Too
great a diffidence in the exercise of authority is quickly
perceived by the young who, while they take advantage of
it, will wisely declare that “ the mistress is too good.”
Many years she was employed as mistress-general of the
day-school, where by her kindness and longanimity, she won
the confidence of both parents and children, while by her
prayers she no doubt contributed to the cause of education
doubly by drawing down the blessing of Heaven upon the
labor of other teachers.
Humble as a child and as docile to the voice of her supe-
riors, Mother St. John was a pattern of fervor and of exacti-
tude to all our religious observances. So efficacious was her
spirit of faith and so tender was her piety, that in the acute
sufferings of her last illness, nothing so surely brought her
relief as an invocation to the Sacred Heart, a prayer in honor
of the Sacred Wounds, or the sight of the crucifix.
Her willing soul took its flight to the bosom of God, January
18th, 1888, at the age of eighty-three years. She had com-
pleted the fiftieth year of her profession in November, 1878,
but in the excess of her lowly aspirings, she had appealed to
her superior, and obtained as a favor that there would be
none of the rejoicings usual in the commuuity on such occa-
sions, only “the prayers and offering of a general communion
for which she would be most grateful.”
Our first group of jubilarians might end here with Mother
St. John; but another name deserved!y dear presents itself
for a brief notice. It is that of Miss Christine Vermette, in
religion Mother St. Angela, who, had her dear life been pro-
IN MEMORY OF OUR JUBILARIANS AFTER 18389 81
longed only a few months more, would have also attained
her jubilee anniversary of profession.
Miss Vermette belonged to the city of Quebec, where her
father Mr, Francois Vermette supported his family honorably
in the calling of a merchant. Christine, on leaving the con-
vent, was soon introduced into society and at first relished
the frivolous pleasures of gay soirées as do most young girls,
More than once however, after the vain pageant was over,
she had regretted the quiet enjoyments of her school days,
the peace and restfulness of her convent-home. On one
occasion, when the giddy dance and light conversation
had worn the whole night away, her carriage drove past the
convent as the heavy four o’clock bell rang its loud peal,
calling the nuns from their peaceful slumbers to begin the
day by prayer. Like another young lady whom we have
mentioned, this young girl was awakened by that bell to
serious reflections. Her night had been wasted in vain amuse-
ments which, promising pleasure, had left her exhausted and
listless. The nuns from their night’s rest had arisen refreshed
and ready for the holy labors which would merit a reward
in heaven.
These reflections were not the simple result of that passing
disgust which often succeeds immoderate enjoyment. They
were rather the prelude to a serious discussion of the great
questions: “ For what end has God created me, and how may
I best attain that end ? “In her case Miss Vermette found the
response to be the same as was once addressed by Our Lord
to the young man who enquired: “ What shall I do to inherit
eternal life”»—* Leave all thou hast and follow me.”
A few months later the young girl obeyed the summons,
and entering the novitiate of the Ursulines, prepared to follow
the footsteps of their Foundress, even as that heroic soul had
followed those of Our Lord.
32 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
Was it by a special favor that the postulant, born in 1808,
the year that St. Angela was canonized, obtained the privi-
lege of bearing her name when taking the veil in 1827? Of
this there is no proof, but we can bear witness to her special
devotion to her holy patroness, as well as to our Venerable
Mother Mary of the Incarnation. These names were often
on her lips, when as directress of the boarding-school or as
mistress-general, she inculcated their holy maxims or invited
her pupils to emulate the saintly examples of these patro-
nesses of the order, .
Mother St. Angela, fully imbued with the spirit of Angela
of Brescia, loved to form her youthful charge to the fer-
vent practice of their religious duties and the virtues that
should adorn a Christian maiden, Not a few of her pupils
were ca lled to follow her example by entering the religious
state, and others, settled in the worid, lived the holy and
edifying lives of truly Christian women.
Mother St. Angela, however, had been chosen by divine
Providence for another mission, that of patient suffering.
During nearly half of her life in the community, through
debility and ill health, she was debarred the sweet privilege
attending in the choir, or following the common rule, At one
time, when her sufferings had brought her to the verge of the
grave, her health was suddenly restored, in answer to the
united prayers of the nuns and pupils who had had recourse to
the intercession of our Venerable Mother to obtain this favor.
Never had our good Sister been so strong and healthy as she
was during the two following years, But her normal state
was destined to be that of a victim of suffering. Therefore,
after the recovery of her health had been fully tested, another
malady was sent which, after procuring her daily and hourly
occasions of increasing her merits by patient and loving
endurance, opened for her at Jength the gates of the city of
MOTHER ST. ANDREW’S NOVICES 33
rest, on the 29th of April, 1879. Mother St. Angela had
been successfully employed many years in teaching as well
as in the offices of novice-mistress, directress of the boarding-
school and mistress-general. In all these offices her inva-
riable kindness, her persevering efforts to benefit the souls of
those under her charge, her cheerfulness and pious conver-
sation made an indelible impression, and won her the deserved
meed of affection and gratitude,
CHAPTER V
1839 - 1842
MOTHER ST, ANDREW’S NOVICES
We have already sct before our readers the statistics of
the Monastery in 1839, and now we are prepared to examine
what promise of future property is to be foundin the novi-
tiate of that period.
Only four professed choir-sisters, with three white-veiled
candidates destined to perseverance, appear on that brief
catalogue of Mother St. Andrew’s novices. On the other
hand, only one was taken young from the field of her labors ;
the others generously devoted long years to the instruction
of youth, or sought to promote otherwise the best interests
of the house, according to the talents bestowed upon them
for this end by divine Providence.
The first upon the list is Sister Cécile Michaud, professed
in 1835, with her gifted. companion, Sister St. Thomas Burke,
The others in their rank of profession were: Sister St. Frs, de
Borgia Dechesne (1836); Sister St. Philomena Kelly Mur-
3
84 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
phy (1838); Sister Aloysius Dechesne (1840) ; Sister Ste,
Croix Holmes (1840), and Sister Winifride Deligny, professed
in 1841.
Sister Josephine Michand of St. Cecilia, and her two
cousins Emilie and Eliza Dechesne, were nieces of Mother
St. Henry McLaughlin, and allied through their relatives to
the best society in Quebec. Their parents resided in Kamou-
raska, During their school life they had frequent opportuni-
ties of forming acquaintances in the city, which in those days
united civic and military splendors, as well as attractions and
dangers of which it has been shorn in great measure by
ceasing to be the capital of all Canada,
Their exit from society excited much comment, and their
choice of the seclusion of the cloister was far from meeting
the approval of their relatives.
Within the convent aovwever, where their sentiments and
aptitudes were better known and appreciated, the event had
been foreseen and provided for in the special care bestowed
upon the cultivation of their talents, destined to be conse-
crated to the service of religion. While the young nuns
were taking lessons in drawing and painting from an Ame-
rican artist, |! recommended to our Superior by high autho-
rity, these young ladies were admitted to share the same
advantages as the cloister artists of those times.
But these are things of the past, the “long ago.” Not only
the three cousins, but their companions, all that happy group.
of novices, with one solitary exception, have passed away.
That lone survivor has still fresh in her memory each of those
beloved Sisters by whose exemplary life she has been edified,
and on whose tomb she ventures to place this little tribute
1—Mr. Bowman, of Philadelphia, a convert, recommended by
Bishop Fenwick, 1824.
MOTHER ST. ANDREW’S NOVICES 85
of affection, by introducing them one by one to her readers,
following the order of their “ passing away.”
Miss Eliza Dechesne, the youngest of the three cousins,
entered the novitiate in 1837. Her profession took place,
March 16th, 1840, in company witha young convert to the
faith, whose baptism and first communion she had witnessed
four years previous,
Very Rev. Felix Cazeau addressed the happy novices in
an eloquent and touching exhortation, founded on the words
addressed to Abraham, when called by the Almighty to quit
the land of Ur, The text which the sacred orator proved to
be applicable to the young candidates before him was the
following :
“ Go forth out of thy country and thy kindred, and from
thy father’s house, and come into the land which I shall
show thee.” (Gen. XII, I).
Miss Dechesne had chosen for her patron St. Aloysius
Gonzaga, and like that angelic youth won her crown within
the brief space of four years after her profession.
The messenger sent to bear her to the tomb was a pul-
monary affection which declared itself a few months previous
to the close of her noviceship.
Without regret she resigned her pure soul into the hands
of Him who gave it, leaving her Sisters to mourn her the
more sincerely that her amiability and tender piety had
drawn closer around their hearts the sweet ties of sympathy
and fraternal charity.
Made perfect in so brief a space,
And crowned so young: UV, precious grace,
Worthy of envy! Sister dear,
Tis not for thee, this falling tear,
Thrice happy thou! but ah! how lone,
My pathway to that blessed throne,
86 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
Where faith and hope rest satisfied,
O’erwhelmed in love’s all blissful tide.
Extend thy care from yon bright shore,
To aid the lingering footsteps sore
Of one whose course in nearly run ;
The shadows lengthen with the setting sun.
Miss Emilie Dechesne’s vocation had been decided upon
only after mature and serious deliberation, during which the
world’s alluring promises, a3 well as its vain threats, were
“ weighed in the balance ” and found unworthy to be com-
pared with the invitations and gracious promises of the Spouse
of virgins,
On taking the veil in 1836 and adopting the name of St.
Francis of Borgia, the fervent novice had determined to offer
the Almighty a true holocaust by regulating her whole life
in strict conformity with her sacred engagements,
The natural vivacity of her temperament she moderated
by interior recollection, carefully reserving for the hour of
recreation the sallies of wit and humor which rendered her
conversation so engaging. A remarkable facility for self-con-
trol, generosity in self-sacrifice, joined to a solid piety and
some experience of the world, rendered her an able directress
of the senior division of boarders, an office which she filled
till transferred for six years to the department of the half-
boarders, and thence in 1860 to the novitiate as mistress of
novices,
Her skill in drawing and painting was exercised not only
in teaching these branches, but also in copying from good
models many of the holy pictures with which the monastery
is now enriched. It was especially her delight to contribute
to the good work, pursued through many years by that noble
French priest 1, who brought into Canada valuable paintings,
1—L, G. Desjardins, Superior of the Monastery from 1825 to 1833.
MOTHER ST. ANDREW’S NOVICES 87
rescued in a damaged state from among the ruins left by the
revolutionary destroyers, These paintings, carefully mended
and skilfully retouched, were eagerly sought for, serving as
an embellishment of the altar in many a church throughout
the country.
Among the pupils, Sister St. Borgia exerted the happiest
influence through her superior talent for imparting religious
instruction, As an example of her zeal in forming the pupils
to the practice of true piety, we must mention the establish-
ment of the Sodalities of the Children of Mary and the Holy
Angels, as well as that of the Holy Childhood, all of which
were introduced while she was first directress of the boarders,
These sodalities, which we shall have occasion to mention
again, were the cherished objects of Sister St. Borgia’s soli-
citude, and an unfailing source of consolation amid the inces-
sant labors of her charge. Often she was heard to say, con-
gratulating herself upon the part she had taken in establish-
ing the sodality of the Holy Childhood: “ It is upon the
souls of these thousands of baptized infants that I count, to
be escorted safe to heaven in spite of all my failings,”
The year 1866, already so cruelly saddened by the death
of dear Mother St. Andrew, had other days of sorrow in
store for us, Sister St. Borgia’s health had been on the
decline for the past two years, An obstinate cough, with
other symptoms of consumption had frequently reduced the
courageous mother-mistress to the necessity of moderating
her zeal in following the observances. The month of April
found her at the infirmary. The 6th of June witnessed her
last act of resignation and her tranquil departure for the land
of the blest, in the fifty second year of her age, and the
thirtieth of her religious profession.
88 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
Miss Josephine Michaud had sought admittance to the
novitiate in 1833, at the age of twenty.
Endowed with great energy of character, she embraced the
practices of religious life with an ardor, which, after rendering
her a model of piety and exactitude, continued to distinguish
her throughout her long and laborious career, Her daily life
was not only a living rule, but, indeed, often far exceeded the
rule by its austerily and lengthened hours of prayer. Her
chief difficulties lay, not in the exercise of obedience or humi-
lity, which were her favorite virtues, but rather in the
obligation to direct others and make them submit to
authority, whether among the pupils, where she was long
employed, or in the offices of assistant and mistress-general.
If her labors in the class-room were rendered more difficult
for herself by her own temperament, they were not the less
meritorious, nor were they less appreciated,
Her golden jubilee of profession, in 1885, brought her
abundant evidence of the affectionate and grateful remem-
brance of her former pupils in the many congratulations and
offerings she received on that auspicious occasion.
Like her cousin, Sister St. Borgia, her artistic talents had
enabled her to produce some good oil-paintings, which will
long serve to remind the community of her own example of
a holy life, as well as of the saints whose portraits she has
left us. Whatever occupation was contided to her received
the attention she would have given to an order from our
Blessed Lord Himself. Thus it was that whatever came from
her hands was found perfect. The same principle had taught
her the diligent employment of her time, neatness and
order, which she almost carried to an excess, as well as the
careful observance of even the minutest dictates of the rule
or of charity. Such, is the picture evoked by the name of
Mother St. Cecilia; joined to the remembrance ot her habit-
MOTHER ST. ANDREW'S NOVICES 89
ual state of suffering of which she never complained, but
rather was unwilling to admit when compassionated by
others and exhorted to repose,
Even when attacked by a hemorrhage of the lungs which
was to be followed in less than a week by her death, she
could with difficulty be persuaded to retire to the infirmary,
The poor, worn frame could resist no longer ; it sank under
this last stroke. The tottering edifice crumbled swiftly, yet
not with a violent shock. It seemed the “dissolving of the
body to be with Christ”, which as St. Paul declares, “ is
far better,” and we laid our dear sister beside the other
departed ones, all in their last sleep, awaiting the resurrection,
when the “corruptible will put on the incorruptible,” and
death will be exchanged for immortality.
The next in that group of novices, name in the order of
their departure, is Miss Lucie Deligny, known in the Con-
vent as Sister St. Winifride. It is a name linked with plea-
sant memories for all who lived with that gentle, retiring,
low-voiced Sister, whose emblem for hidden worth and
excellence would be the costly pearl lying far down in the
depths of the sea, With a casual observer. Sister St. Wini-
fride might have passed for a person of ordinary abilities
and perhaps inferior merit, but in the intimacy of convent
life, the daily intercourse of sisters, the deepest veil of humi-
lity and reserve becomes transparent.
Silent and unobtrusive, yet ready and competent for every
charge; as alert to oblige and render service as she was
careful to avoid giving trouble or inconvenience, Sister St.
Winifride was at once an example and an exhortation in the
novitiate.
The pupils to whom her lucid explanations unfolded the
intricacies of mathematics or French syntax, rendering those
40 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
studies both easy and attractive, were not the last to discover
and appreciate the abilities of their excellent teacher,
In the office of second mistress of the senior department
of boarders her acute discernment of character, as well as her
invincible longanimity became conspicuous ; but her services
were required in another office, and during the rest of her
too brief existence, her assistance as aid-depositary relieved
dear Mother St, Gabriel of nearly all the labur and anxiety
entailed by that important position,
It is a remark of Father Faber that sickness affords a true
revelation of character; that friends are often amazed at the
treasure of affection, piety or devotion discovered where
years of close relationship had never brought it to light,
Thus it was with beloved Sister St. Winifride, whose
habitual reserve and apparent reticence now expanded like
the fragrance of a rose, attracting to her bedside each loving
Sister with her gentle invitation to “ come again,” or to “ stay
longer,” an invitation which each affectionate visitor was only
too happy to accept.
Sister St, Winifride was the daughter of Mr, Frangois Deli-
gny, a respectable merchant of Quebec ; her mother’s maideu
name was Genevieve Drolet. She had entered the novitiate
at the age of seventeen, after having been five years a boarder,
When her death occurred on the 6th of March, 1867, she
filled the office of first Depositary. She had labored in the:
vineyard of the Lord nearly thirty years, and had lived to
the age of forty-seven.
Sister Catherine Burke and Sister Mary Catherine Kelly-
Murphy were not born in the Emerald Isle, yet were they
of Irish parentage and disposition. These two gifted young
ladies met as sister-novices under the guidance of Mother St..
Andrew in 1836.
MOTHER 8ST. ANDREW’S NOVICES 41
To the sympathy of race and of congenial tastes and
sentiments, were now added the stronger ties of sisterhood,
the long intimacy of the religious life, with its similarity of
pursuits, enjoyments and sacrifices,
Miss Catherine Burke, who bore in religion the name of
Sister St. Thomas, frequented our extern school at an early
age, her parents having removed to Quebec from Newfound-
land, where our future Ursuline was born, March 7th, 1814.
In the boarding-school her progress was as rapid as her
talents were remarkable. Invited to spend a few months at
Riviére du Loup, in the family of Miss Josephine Michaud, her
friend and future companion in the novitiate, the enjoyments
of that summer in the country were never forgotten, nor the
scenes of Canadian home-life, with which she there became
familiar, Many a page of her Histoire des Ursulines bears
witness to the vivid pictures of peasant-cottage or seigno-
rial-manor with which the writer's youthful imagination had
been impressed,
During some fifteen years after her profession, Sister St.
Thomas engaged in teaching, cultivated with success the
talents of her pupils, at the same time that her own improve-
ment in literary studies was preparing her to write of
the house she loved so enthusiastically. Circumstances
en‘rely unforeseen awaited to widen her experience, A
journey across the continent, as will be noted elsewhere,
with a seven years’ residence in an Ursuline convent during
the arduous period of its first foundation, contributed no
doubt to inspire the design, and aid in the accomplishment of
this work, which required literary powers and a clear judg-
ment, as well as a masterful love of the “ Old Monastery.”
After her return from the South, while resting from
the labors which had greatly impaired her health, Sister
St. Thomas, with the approbation of her Superiors, silently
42 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
gathered from various sources, and gave form to the amount
of historical, legendary and miscellaneous information con-
tained in the four volumes of the “ Histoire des Ursulines
de Québec ”,
In 1864 the first volume was under press. By the advice
of Rev. Geo, L. Lemoine, our excellent chaplain, the work
uad been reviewed and had received some additional pages,
introducing more of the history of Canada collaterally with
that of the Monastery, “ with which, according to the remark
of Sir Etienne Taché, it is so intimately linked.” In all this
labor, Mother St. Mary, being freely consulted, lent as freely
her aid and concurrence,
Mother St. Thomas at “ three-score and ten” was yet
light in her movements, clear in her faculties, and sprightly
in her repartees as she had been in her younger days. Her
piety had only become more marked and tender, her charity,
if possible more delicate and expansive, her abnegation and
self-control more complete. Her motherly features alone
told of age; but the hour of a final departure was silently
nearing, and after a short illness and a peaceful preparation,
for the great change, on the 20th of January, 1885, the loss
of a beloved sister was wept by the aftlicted community ;
while in the courts above another faithful soul was welcomed
to her eternal reward,
Sister St. Philomena, whose name we have coupled with
that of Sister St. Thomas. entered the novitiate in January
1836, at the age of sixteen, Her double family name,
Murphy-Kelly, demands an explanation.
In the early part of the present century, there lived
in Hanover Street, Boston an elderly couple, wealthy
but without children, Mr, and Mrs, Kelly. In the neigh-
borhood dwelt another Irish family, of the name of Murphy,
unt
con-
lines
vice
vork
Ages,
with
nark
this
reely
; yet
shtly
Her
MOTHER ST. ANDREW’S NOVICES 43
whose youngest girl, a rosy-cheeked cherub of three summers,
with golden ringlets and soft blue eyes, had attracted Mrs,
Kelly’s notice from day to day, till the good lady felt she
could give all her fortune to possess such a child as her own,
That little girl’s respectable parents were not rich in this
world’s goods, and when Mrs, Kelly offered to adopt that
wee one, and provide for it as if it were her own, on condition
only that it should bear the name of Mary Kelly, instead of
Jatherine Murphy, they thought it a providential event, even
as it proved. Little Mary, at her tender age, hardly noticed
the change, and soon learned to love her benefactress as her
own mother, though later nature asserted its rights, and she
never forgot the first love due to her real parents and family,
After having placed her in the Ursuline convent of Mount
Benedict at the age of five, her parents of adoption had both
gone to their reward before the time of her first communion.
Mrs Kelly had outlived her husband, and nobly kept the pro-
mise of providing for the little one she had adopted, leaving
her an ample provision for her future maintenance, whatever
might be the state of life she would embrace.
In conformity to the will of her benefactress, Miss Kelly
continued her studies under the able teachers in the convent
of Mount Benedict and grew up an accomplished young lady,
without lessening the piety and candor of her early years,
That nothing might be wanting in the education of his ward,
whose progress was remarkable, and whose talents for music
were of a high order, her guardian, H. Derby, Esq., of Boston,
desired to give her the advantage of taking lessons in French
in a convent where the language was habitually spoken,
Miss Kelly was accordingly sent to Canada, the convent of
the Sisters of the Congregation in Montreal having been
selected from motives of convenience for the journey.
44 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
Thus it was that the gentle young girl was spared the
riotous scenes that attended the destruction of the beloved
convent where she had spent so many happy years.
After a few months in Montreal, Miss Kelly returned to her
Ursuline Mothers, who driven from their peaceful retreat had
taken refuge with their Sisters of Quebec.
Already she had reflected deeply, and had resolved to con-
secrate her life to God in the religious state. Before the close
of the year she decided to ask her admission to the novi-
tiate in the Old Monastery.
The pupils of that New Year’s day, 1836, were not a little
startled with the discovery that their aimable young com-
panion had quitted their ranks and now wore the white cap
and black silk scarf of a postulant.
Three months later they assisted at her reception of the
veil and habit of an Ursuline, under which garb they fancied
she looked still more graceful and angelic than ever on that
occasion, veiled and arrayed in white as on the day of her
first Communion.
When Sister St. Philomena, as she will henceforth be
called, assumed the rank of teacher among those who had
lately been her companions, her quiet dignity and lady-like
demeanor insured their ready submission and respect. In
the department of music especially her services were long
and unwearied, To train those young voices to sing the
praise of their Creator, to move their hearts to piety through
the influence of sacred anthems, harmonized by the great
masters ; to enhance the solemnity of the different Church
festivals by the skilful combination of all the instruments at
her disposa]. and thus to procure the glory of God and the
good of souls, was the height of her ambition. In teaching
music, her tact in imparting to her pupils the ease and self-
PIOUS ASSOCIATIONS INTRODUCED 45
reliance requisite for success was evidently the result of her
own invincible patience, of her perfect calm and self-posses-
Sion.
Ever gentle and considerate, ever seeking to implant in
the ready soil of youthful hearts the love of God and the
love of duty, how deeply must these saving principles have
been implanted in her own heart to have sustained her, ever
cheerful and ever ready for every sacrifice through the long
labors of fifty years, chiefly devoted to teaching music! The
mention of fifty years will remind her former pupils of the
bright celebration of her golden jubilee. It is not to be
omitted, but only reserved to its proper date.
CHAPTER VI
PIOUS ASSOCIATIONS INTRODUCED
THE HOLY CHILDHOOD, sT. ANGEIA’S CHURCH IN CHINA.
In connection with the name of Mother Dechesne of St.
Francis of Borgia we have mentioned the pious association
of the Holy Childhood. This appeal to children in behalf of
abandoned infants in heathen countries originated in France,
in 1843, through the zeal of the illustrious Bishop of Nancy,
Count Forbin-Janson.
It would be superfluous to explain here that the objects
of the society are to reserve and baptize children in danger
of death ; to bring up in Christian families or in convents
the survivors, and to found establishments where some of
these children can be trained to become catechists, teachers
or apostles among their countrymen.
46 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
It was the last crowning work of the venerable prelate’s
apostolic life, and was rapidly propagated through the Catho-
lic countries of Europe. Among the numerous associates,
princes and princesses of the royal Houses of Belgium,
Spain and Austria inscribed their names while they sent in
their munificent donations.
Canada was not slow in adopting a society instituted by
a saintly bishop, whose eloquence had irresistibly moved her
populations wherever he had passed. In Quebec, pious
ladies welcomed it and established it on so firm a basis, that
it has now passed its jubilee anniversary without ever failing
to send to the central directory its annual offering, including
that of the pupils of the Ursulines,
The first president of the Holy Childhood in Quebec was
Mrs, Vital Tétu, 1841. The first remittance from the asso-
ciates in the convent was the result of an ingenious expedient,
suggested by their first directress Mother St. Borgia.
It was the year when young ladies in the city had dis-
covered the beauty of embroidered muslin aprons, Sud-
denly it became fashionable in the convent. The swiftest
fingers were put in requisition to furnish the elegant article,
which proved the more saleable from the certainty that the
proceeds would be devoted to the work of the new society.
When all had been supplied with aprons, other articles of
daily wear were found indispensable; wrappers of which
the supply ever seemed insufficient, collars of various styles
and patterns. Among the half-boarders, a lottery had been
organized, and some pretty articles had been offered to raffle,
In short, success had crowned the efforts of the associates,
and taught them the pleasures of beneticence.
The following year, at the request of the ladies who directed
the Society in the city, and with the promise of their concur-
rence as guardians, the pupils of the Ursulines held a “ Chil-
PIOUS ASSOCIATIONS INTRODUCED 47
dren’s Bazaar,” in one of the halls at the St. Louis Hotel,
where was realized the sum of over four hundred dollars,
The young ladies from the Convent who particularly distin-
guished themselves by their zeal and generosity were the
following: Miss Caroline Nault (later Mrs, Ernest Gagnon),
Miss Clorinde Mondelet (Mrs, Judge Routhier), Miss Amélie
Duchesnay (Mrs. A, Lindsay), Miss Margaret O’Brien (Sister
St. Joseph of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary), and Miss
Mary Boxer, an amiable Protestant young lady.
Kvery thing had passed off to the satisfaction of all the
parties concerned in its success; nevertheless, it was not
deemed expedient to repeat the experiment, from which some
inconveniences might naturally be apprehended.
To organize within the convent a bazar with its various
attractions, its useful and fancy articles, its tables of refresh-
ments, its raffles, its fish-pond, &c., and this without inviting
other purchasers than the pupils daily in attendance, was
another expedient which has been repeatedly and successfully
adopted. At other times a concert or a literary aud musical
entertainment is prepared, in order to provide an offering for
the Holy Childhood or other works of charity, for the pupils
are taught to patronize other Societies besides that of their
predilection.
These lotteries, bazaars, and entertainments have their
charms, as deviations from the routine of school-life, while
their financial success becomes a new source of pleasing excite-
ment. From year to year the annual contribution of the
pupils, keeping pace with their zeal for the Association of the
Holy Childhood, has varied from one hundred and sixty to
two hundred dollars.
Another means of augmenting the pecuniary resources of
the society, and one which is for many reasons preferred to
48 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
all the others, is that of a collection taken up during the holy
mass offered for the associates and their work. This festival,
announced at the Cathedral on 1 Sunday in the month of May,
takes place on a week-day. It is la féte des petites, the feast
of the little ones. Twoof the smallest among these little
ones, boarders and half-boarders, are selected to take up the
collection, It is an event in their little lives, one to be
remembered when it will be their turn to give, rather than to
receive. The older pupils, suddenly invested with the right
to bestow alms, handle their purses with becoming dignity,
and listen with pleasure to the chink of the falling coins as
the little collectors pass through their ranks, Meanwhile,
the holy sacrifice proceeds, and pious hymns acoompany the
Offertory, till the tinkle of the bell gives warning of the
most solemn moment of mass, for which the best preparation
is the silent prayer of the humble worshipper.
A few moments later, our little collectors are again seen
gliding through the ranks of the congregation in the exterior
church, where are assembled their mothers, their elder sisters,
and other pious ladies, The little purses are filled again for
the last time. Mass is over, and means have been provided
for the zealous catechist in a far-off pagan land to pursue his
labor of love by purchasing for a few cents the right to pro-
long the life, or if too late for that, to open heaven, for an
infant abandoned by its own parents,
Let us now explain by what means a church at Tsi-zé-ié,
‘China, has been erected and dedicated to St, Angela.
A missionary, after laboring many years in the Celestial
Empire, required rest; he was sent by his superiors to
Canada, and came to Quebec. But the Jesuit Faiher Vasseur
did not forget the poor neophytes who mourned his absence.
|
the
o be
in to
right
nity,
13 as
rhile,
y the
f the
ration
PIOUS ASSOCIATIONS INTRODUCED 49
In their interest, he still exerted himself, and willingly enter-
tained the nuns and their pupils by graphic descriptions of
that world apart called China. :
Details of a most interesting kind, important concessions
obtained, whole villages asking for catechists to instruct
them, difficulties surmounted and dangers that threatened ;
the gbvod missionary speaking from the fulness of his
apostolic heart could not fail to reach the hearts of his
audience. Especially were they moved, when they beheld
in spirit the divine mysteries celebrated by the missionary
in an open boat on the great Imperial Canal, while from
other boats surrounding his, would be heard the morning
prayers, the profession of faith, or the commandments,
chanted in unison by these recently converted Christians,
assembled in so strange a place to hear Mass,
“They have no church, not even a roof beneath which
the missionary might find a shelter for the holy altar! Yet
the cost of a pretty church, all tapestried with tablets
on which even the pagaus might read the great truths of
religion, would not exceed a thousand dollars,”
“ A thousand dollars! why, such a sum might be reached
in a few years by doubling the proceeds of our annual con-
cert or bazaar,”
A few days later the offer was made in due form, on
condition that the church would be named after the foundress
of the Ursulines, St. Angela.
Henceforward the treasurers of the Holy Childhood econo-
mized, until the stipulated amount having been realized, in
1876, it was placed in the hands of Father Vasseur, and by
him transmitted to the Sup:rior of the Foreign Missions in
Paris, A letter from Rev. Father Royer, the missionary
stationed at Tsi-zé-i¢, to whom the offering of a thousand
4
50 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
dollars had been sent, was addressed to the Mother Superior
in September 1877, After explaining the situation of Tsi-z¢-ié,
a borough about fifty miles east of the city of Tchan-chen, he
continues :
“Since ten years the poor Christians of this borough were
praying for a foothold where they might assemble, and where
the missionary might find a roof to shelter his head, Last
year I was still saying mass in an open boat, each time I
came to this place. I promised a novena of masses in honor
of St. Joseph for the poor souls most devoted to him asking
some special help to build a Church. Two days later, meet-
ing at Vonsi the Rev. F. Ponblard, minister of the section of
Tchan-chen, he said to me:
“ T have just received from the Rev, Father Superior a
letter enclosing funds to build a church in honor of St. Angela
in the name of the pupils of the Ursulines of Quebec, Yes-
terday you were praying to St. Joseph, and telling me how
urgent it was to build. To day our dear Lord sends you the
money you require”
A few weeks later the work was in progress, the ground
levelled, the materials purchased, and workmen engaged.
The next letter announced that the poor Christians no
longer assisted at Mass in open boats surrounding that of the
missionary, but in their own little church, the wonder of their
pagan neighbors,
&-nee the building of St. Angela’s church a regular corres-
pondence has been kept up with Tsi-zé-i¢é, on the Imperial
Canal in China, Sometimes the good missionary has a parcel
to send, Opened in Quebec it is found to contain most
interesting curiosities : Chinese embroidery, scapulars, collars,
tablets of curious raised work, pictures, etc. Sometimes
the church needs repairs, and of course, there is always a
little amount that can be remitted from Quebec.
SODALITY OF THE CHILDREN OF MARY 51
At other times the letter is simply a page of the history
of the mission, the difficulties to be met, the vexations
exercised by the pagan Chinese, ever adverse to the progress
of Christianity among their countrymen. These letters are
carefully preserved, they may form at some future day the
annals of St. Angela’s church in China.
At all times they may serve to encourage the members of
the Holy Childhood to emulate the zeal of their predecessors,
by whose generosity this noble work was accomplished.
CHAPTER VII
1846
SODALITY OF THE CHILDREN OF MARY
The Sodality of the Children of Mary is too well known
to the generality of our readers to require an explanation.
To others who might suppose that it is simply a “ Ribbon
Society,” a distinction without merit, we would remark
that in our convent schools, and in Catholic parlance, a
sodality has a higher signification.
Besides the spiritual advantages which are attached to
these associations, such as special instructions and aids to
piety, a pupil is not admitted as a member without such
efforts in the performance of daily duties, as are of vast
importance in the formation of character, Children of Mary
are then the élite of the senior department of the institute,
Their insignia, a medal and a blue ribbon, is a mark of the
victories they have won; it is an ennobling title, and
“ moblesse oblige.”
52 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
This sodality, first introduced here, in 1843, had been
made known to us by the Ursulines of St. Mary’s, Waterford
(Ireland), who, with indefatigable kindness, after giving us
ample information relative to its object and organization,
copied out the rule for us, and finally procured us from
Rome a Diploma of A fiiliation 1.
From that day forward, the sodality among the pupils of
the convent, has not ceased to produce abundant and excel-
lent fruit. The desire to be numbered among its members
exercises a salutary influence upon the pupils both as regards
good order and their advancement in their studies, Among
the Children of Mary are chosen, not only the president of the
sodality, but also the president of the Holy Childhood and of
the Literary Society of St. Ursula. Is there question of
working for the poor ¢ the Children of Mary are the first to
offer their contributions and their services, In the course of
the scholastic year, other calls upon their charity may be
expected; they will never meet with indifference on the part
of the Children of Mary. From the ranks of the sodality are
most often chosen the candidates for the religious state; now
for the instruction of youth, now for the care of the sick and
infirm, sometimes also for the contemplative orders. It is the
Maste1’s voice! They must obey.
Nor is the membership of a Child of Mary confined to the
period of her school days. On leaving the convent her
certificate and medal are a passport every where to the
sodality now so widely established, If her home is in the
city, she continues to come to the convent for a weekly
1—This diploma dated Nov. 17th, 1845, constitutes an affiliation
with the Prima Primaria of Rome, approved by Pope Gregory XIII,
1584, by Sextus V., Benedict XIV, and Leo XII, 1824.
SODALITY OF THE CHILDREN OF MARY 53
assembly devoted to sewing for the poor under the direction
of one of the nuns, There she has the advantage of hearing
a pious exhortation or instruction given by the local director,
the chaplain of the convent, There also, breathing the
atmosphere of peace which comes to her laden with her
early associations, she feels strengthened against the worldly
influences that may surround her,
Space will not permit us to pursue the subject further,
nor introduce our readers into the interior chapel of Our
Lady, where the youtlful Virgin smiles upon her votaries
from the lovely white altar they have erected in her honor,
Neither can we depict the processions on the great festivals
of Our Lady in the course of the year, when the Children
of Mary, in flowing white veils, follow the glittering banner
of their mother, reminding us of that virgin choir above,
“following the Lams whithersoever He goeth.” Their gala
day above all others is at the close of Mary’s month, when
all nature, in unison with the joy of their youthful hearts,
displays her charms, her clear blue sky and soft temperature,
her birds and her flowers, as the whole population of Notre-
Dame de Grace, St. Augustine and St. Ursula}, issue from
their respective departments, and assemble before the
statue of the Madonna presiding over the play-grounds, and
whose niche becomes a sanctuary on that occasion. The sacred
chant of the Litany is entoned. To its undulating measures,
the procession begins its march, appearing first near the
cross on the highest ground within the cloistered enclosure
and following, group after group, each with its distinctive
1—Names by which are designated the different buildings occu-
pied by the different divisions, the senior or first division of the
boarders, the juniors and the Normal School.
54 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
banner, the winding alleys, till like a living wreath of beauty,
it embraces the whole extent of the nuns’ garden,
The last cluster in that wreath rivets our attention, It is
St. Angela, personated by a Child of Mary, surrounded by
little ones like so many angels, The holy Patroness of the
Ursulines carries a glowing diadem of fragrant flowers, the
pure lily of the valley, the sweet violet, the blue hyacinth
and other flowers of spring, which she will lay at the feet of’
the statue of the Virgin Mother, when all have entered the
chapel.
The ceremony closes amid waves of melody mingled with
hymns of praise, rendered more impressive by the splendor
of artistic decorations around Mary’s throne, the flickering
light of tapers, and the clouds of sweet incense rising there,
when alli assembled kneel to offer the floral crown to their
heavenly Queen and ask her blessing.
How lovely is the spectacle of youthful piety! The term
angelic ” seems perfectly appropriate when applied to a pious
young girl, a member of the sodality; for Mary is the model
held up to her imitation, Mary the Immaculate, the gentle,
the unassuming, the kind, the compassionate! Mary, the
modest young maiden who was troubled at words of praise,
although uttered by an angel, who shrank from the highest
honor Heaven could bestow until assured that it was con-
sistent with the choice she had made of virginity.
O CHILDREN oF Mary! cherish the precious title which
is yours and let it ever accompany your name. Love your
sodality, and hesitate not to sacrifice at times your ease or
your pleasure, in order to attend its assemblies, to take part
in its good works, and to show yourselves worthy of it, by
your fidelity to your duties whatever may be the station in
life assigned to you by divine Providence,
ee
@
or
FIFTIETH YEAR OF THE SODALITY 5!
FIFTIETH YEAR OF THE SODALITY
A quiet family-gathering was all that marked the day, yet
how impressive the scene just witnessed within the two
great halls of Notre Dame de Grace, thrown into one for the
occasion! There were assembled all the inmates of the monas-
tery, the eighty-five nuns with their two hundred and fifty
pupils,in memory of the fiftieth anniversary of the first solemn
reception of the Children of Mary on the same festival
of the Immaculate Conception in 1846.
How sweet the singing of the Virgin’s hymn of thanks-
giving, the Magnificat, entoned by our good Chaplain at the
foot of the new statue which he had blessed from the ritual,
How touching the act of consecration renewed in the name
of all present ! The sodality to-day has seen its Golden Jubilee !
FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, 1896.
The number of names among the boarders and_half-
boarders inscribed upon the list at the various receptions that
have marked these fifty years now amounts to five hundred
and fifty. Let us foretell, if we ay venture to prophesy, that
in 1906, at the sixtieth auniversary of the foundation of the
Sodality of the Children of Mary within the Ursuline Con-
vent, the long foreseen event will bring to each member the
satisfaction of receiving a complete list of all the associates,
with their after fate or state in life, 2s far as it may be ascer-
tained,
56 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
CHAPTER VIII
ANOTHER MARY OF THE INCARNATION
(CECILIA O’CONWAY )
The fourth to bear in the community the revered name of
the venerable foundress was Miss Cecilia O’Conway, whose
history is within our own times and can be written in part
from our own recollections.
Born in Pittsburg, Penn. 1788, of highly respectable
parents, the vicissitudes of her chequered life commenced
with her earliest years. They were a family inheritance.
Her father, Mathias Ignatius O’Conway,a nativeof Galway,
Ireland, had seen the family estates confiscated under the
penal laws, and while yet a stripling, was a wanderer on the
shores of America, In 1787 he married the only child of
wealthy Irish parents, Miss Maria Archer, whose conversion
to Catholicity entailed upon her also the loss of the property
to which she was the rightful heiress, The babe Cecilia was
but six months old, when Mr. O’Conway with his young
wife traversed the wilds which then separated Pittsburg
from New Orleans, seeking a home among Catholics, and
hoping to obtain an honorable subsistence, by teaching
English in that French and Spanish city, while he diligently
pursued his own studies in the foreign languages there spoken.
The position of official interpreter which he obtained later
led to a sojourn with his tamily in Baltimore, in Cuba, and
finally in Philadelphia. From her earliest years, our
little Cecilia spoke “hree languages, but chiefly Spanish,.
which she ever preferred. In Cuba her favorite walks led
to the church, her favorite visits were to a convent of
ANOTHER MARY OF THE INCARNATION 57
cloistered nuns, All her inclinations tended to piety. She
was admitted to her first Communion at the age of eleven in
Philadelphia, and confirmed there three years later by Rev.
Dr. Carroll, first Bishop of Baltimore. Meanwhile her educa-
tion was not neglected. Her father, highly gifted, learned and
deeply religious, had constituted himself her teacher, and
took pleasure in cultivacing the remarkable talents of this
eldest daughter whose tastes and aptitudes were like his
own, These studies were chiefly religion and church his-
tory, literature, profane history, natural history and the lan-
guages.
Of her vocation to the religious state we have heard her
speak, and we know that the aspirations of the young girl of
sixteen were only to a closer union with Him whose “ laws
she had observed from her earliest years.” Hence, when
that generous widow lady, Mother Seton, opened a school in
Baltimore with the avowed intention of changing it Jater to
a convent, Cecilia O’Conway readily accepted the invitation
to join her.
Before the close of that year 1808, the new Sisters had
adopted the religious habit and removed to Emmittsburg.
Gradually, as the institution began to take a definite form
with the title of Sisters of Charity, Cecilia experienced such
a disappointment as had nearly decided her to return to her
family. Her heart was set upon a cloistered life, and from
having read the Life and Letters of Venerable Mother Mary
of the Incarnation, she had hoped that the little society would
adopt the rule of the Ursulines,
Mother Seton knew of these secret aspirations of Sister
Cecilia, but regarded them as temptations, The directors of
the new society were still more opposed to a step which,
through the influence of example, might disturb the stability
of other members. In the mean time, a few Sisters were sent
58 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
to New York to make a foundation with Sister Cecilia as
their Superior ; but every change in the institution only
served to augment her difficulties. “A private religious com-
pany,” she wrote later, “ without the sanction of holy Church,
so mixed up with the world and secular duties, was to me
ins» yportable.”
Still she labored as bravely and cheerfully during the first
fourteen years of the establishment of the Sisters of Charity,
as if her whole heart had been in the work. But in 1821, the
sainted foundress having been called to her reward, the same
attraction for the cloister ever persisting, the way seemed
opened, and Sister Cecilia made a formal demand for her with-
drawal, which after much consideration was accepted.
Having obtained the approbation of the archbishop of
New York, she wrote to the Superior of the Ursulines,
Mother St. Henry, stating in the fullest manner the pecu-
liarities of her delayed vocation. Letters exchanged between
Bishop Plessis, Bishop Hughes and Mother St. Henry resulted
in the canditate’s admission to the novitiate, and some weeks
later, Miss O’Conway, who had been transferred to Philadel-
phia before her final separation from the Society, appeared
within the cloistered precincts of the Monastery, which she
had so long sighed to make her home.
Henceforward, the desires of her heart \\ wre satisfied, and
all her letters from the cloister breathe of peace and content-
ment, With retirement from the world, she still enjoyed the
opportunity of doing good by the instruction of youth, pre-
paring young souls for their duties, as well as for the true
happiness of life, by the truly Christian education to which
the Ursuline Order is devoted.
Mother St. Henry soon perceived that the novice, who
with the veil and habit of an Ursuline, had received the
honored name of Sister Mary of the Incarnation, was
4 as
only
20m-
arch,
ome
. first
arity,
|, the
same
emed
with-
op of
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iladel-
peared
ch she
d, and
ontent-
red the
h, pre-
1e true
. which
e, who
ved the
mn, was
ANOTHER MARY OF THE INCARNATION 59
thoroughly prepared for the institute. Appreciating the
varied accomplishments of the new sister, she soon confided
to her the direction of the first class in the boarders’ depart-
ment. Here, besides the study of the English language
and composition, certain hours were devoted weekly to
ancient and modern history, to the elements of astronomy
with the use of the globes. Botany, and the viner branches
of natural history had their turn in the course of the year,
and these especially, the teacher who had studied in various
climates and countries under the tuition of her scholarly
father, rendered so interesting that her pupils looked upon
her class asthe most pleaseant of the day, while they regarded
her as a living encyclopedia.
Her influence over the young girls confided to her charge
tended above all to form them to become fervent Catholics
and useful members of society, teaching them, by examples
drawn from her own experience and observation, the impor-
tance of fidelity to duty even in the minutest points, the
necessity of habits of industry, of self-control, of correspon-
dence to grace and of living in the constant view of eternity.
These salutary principles were not inculcated in the form of
a dry exhortation, but they broke in naturally like a gleam of
sunlight between the rifts of the clouds, making an impression
the more vivid and durable from being the spontaneous
effusion of deep conviction.
The different festivals of the Church afforded opportunities
which our indefatigable teacher faithfully grasped, to
impress the great truths of religion upon the minds of her
pupils. Christmas especially had its touching representation,
in all the vivid realism of the Spanish taste.
Not only the principal personages, the Virgin and Child, St.
Joseph and the shepherds, or the three Kings would appear
in wax figures nearly life-size, but around and beyond the
60 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
grotto, the trees, the flocks of sheep grazing on the distant
hills, with Bethlehem near by. Here, at evening, groups of
children would come in to sing the sweet Christimas hymns,
the diligent Mother profiting of the moment to rehearse the
story, ever new, of the birth of the Saviour, In Holy Week it
was an illustration of a different character. Pictures of Jeru-
salem and the Holy Places, engravings of the Stations, the
sorrowful Virgin, Our Lady of Pity veiled and standing near
the large crucifix, while we pupils sadly chanted the verses
of the Stabat Mater,
On these occasions how impressive were the looks, the
accent, the voice, the words dictated by the holy faith of
one who seemed to behold the invisible !
At other times, and often, we were entertained by the
reminiscences of our beloved teacher’s younger days. Now
it was of her walks with her dear papa and mamma on the
seashore in Cuba, where she would gather pretty shells like
those in our collection Or she would tell us of the church of
the Angel, all in rock and shell-work, where they buried—as
they do in Cuba—her sweet little sister Dolores. We knew
Mother Seton, good Father Babade, Mr. Dubourg-David,
bishops Bruté and Carroll, as if we had lived with them.
The names of her brothers and sisters, all were familiar,
especially to us who aided her in the various metamorphoses
which her little class-room underwent as the months rolled
on. Here she set up her Crib or her Calvary ; here also she
taught embroidery as well as the sciences; and here, when
a holiday gave us a vacant hour, she would invite the select
few who were so disposed to take lessons in the pure
Castilian Spanish she loved so well. Thanks to her disin-
terested zeal for our improvement and to her innate love of
learning, the class of young ladies formed under her teaching
were prepared for the more extensive programme which was
istant
ips of
ymns,
se the
eek it
Jeru-
3, the
r near
verses
‘s, the
ith of
y the
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ym the
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—as
knew
avid,
them,
iiliar,
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rolled
o she
when
select
pure
disin-
ve of
ching
was
ANOTHER MARY OF THE INCARNATION 61
being introduced from 1834 to 1836, under the direction of
an eminent director of the Quebec Seminary, Sister Mary
of the Incarnation assisted at the lessons and experiments in
physics and chemistry, with the pupils of her class, as well as
the novices who had been her pupils. And when years came
and went, bringing in their train feebleness and infirmity, our
earnest teacher could rejoice to see her work ably carried
on by pupils she had formed and directed, and who were
now members of the community.
The last of her class-labors was in the line of embroidery
and ornamental needle-work, of which specimens are still
admired,
The trials inevitably attached to longevity, failing health
and strength, the loss of relatives and dear friends, the chang-
ing scenes around, which constantly remind the aged of the
change which awaits themselves, were not wanting as finish-
ing gems in our beloved Sister’s crown. The acute sensibi-
lities of a heart like hers needed the balance it possessed of
a virile faith and a boundless love of God. Thus armed for
the combat, the prospect of her approaching end did not
alarm her. There was no definite malady, but rather a
general decline, the result of age and infirmity which after a
few months brought her to the verge of the tomb, With the
full use of her strong faculties, with that deep and tender
piety which had ever distinguished her, she prepared for the
last rites of our holy religion. In the late evening hours of
the 8th of March, with a last absolution from her confessor
and a few watchers by her side, the feeble chord of life
silently gave way. The yforious day of eternity had dawned
upon the trembling soul in presence of Him she had faith.
fully loved and served.
“ Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord ; for they rest
from their labors, and their works do follow them,”
62 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
CHAPTER IX
THE MISSES MARY AND ABIGAIL BABBER
IN RELIGION SISTERS ST. BENEDICT AND si, FRANCIS XAVIER
With the names of the Misses Barber we are introduced
to a family history which reads more like fiction than real
life. The ancestors of the Barber family were living in Con-
necticut before the period of the Revolutionary War.
Early in the present century, Rev. Virgil Horace Barber,
an Episcopalian minister, had married Miss Jerusha Booth,
a lady of high intelligence, and had become the father of five
children. One day, after reading the life of St. Francis
Xavier, brought into his house by a Catholic servant-girl, he
was led to inguire into the teachings of a Church which
“could produce such godliness and inspire such heroism.”
The result of his long and anxious researches, which were
shared by his wife, was their embracing the Catholic faith
with their little family, their subsequent separation through
the conviction that Mr, Barber was called to the priesthood },
the decision of Mrs. Barber to consecrate herself to God in
the convent of the Visitation, Georgetown, D. C. while he,
after the absence of a few months in Rome, entered, in the
same city, the novitiate of the Jesuit Fathers.
Three years later, Mrs. Barber, now Sister St. Augustine,
pronounced her vows as a nun in the chapel of the convent.
1—With Mr. Barber’s change of religion,came necessarily a change
of prospects. The Academy in Utica N. Y. of which he was the
President, had to be abandoned, as well as his little farm with its
pleasant parsonage and an assured comfortable living. Moreover,
Mr. Barber had chosen the clerical state believing himself called
nge
its
ver,
lled
THE MISSES MARY AND ABIGAIL BARBER 63
Mr. Barber, the Jesuit novice, at the same mass, pronounced
his, as a member of the Society of Jesus, The children, four
little girls and a boy, were present at this solemn consecration
of their parents to the service of God, an example which in
later years they all followed.
A few years, not uneventful, have passed: the three little
girls in the convent of Georgetown with their mother are
now respectively thirteen, fifteen and sixteen, The two eldest,
Mary and Abigail, have made their choice of a state of life :
they will be Ursulines. But there must be a double sacrifice :
they will go to different convents,
When this is made known to Rev. Virgil H. Barber, he
comes to Georgetown from his distant missionary labors in
Maine. The newly consecrated Bishop of Boston, Rt. Rev.
B. Fenwick, has also come to bless the family whom he had
received into the Church six years previous. There is an
affectionate gathering and a tearful parting in the yarlor of
the Visitation Convent. It is their last meeting. The strong
minded mother bids adieu to her eldest daughters and they
depart by stage-coach, under the protection of a worthy
lady. One of the two sisters remains in Boston; the other
proceeds thence to Quebec.
Mary the eldest daughter has chosen the convent near
Boston as her home, but strange vicissitudes will bring her
to the care of souls. ‘his divine voice he still heard calling him
now to the priesthood, and willingly would he follow it were it
not for his wife and children.
Mrs. Barber became aware of his perplexity, and although the
thought of separation from her husband filled her with agony, she
felt she must make the sacrifice to God. It was done, though at the
expense of untold menta! sutfering on both sides. Later, when asked
by one of her daughters how she had been able to give up her chil-
dren, she answered: ‘“ [ did not do it. God did it for me. He took
me up and carried me through it.”
64 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
one day to accept with thanksgiving, the hospitable shelter
of the monastery of Quebec, where she will end her days !.
At the age of sixteen, Mary was already as mature in
judgment, as accomplished and well informed as might be
expected of a young lady at twenty.
The convent of Mount Benedict, near Boston, was a recent
foundation, enjoying a high reputation as an educational
establishment, Here Mary Barber, now Sister Mary Benedict,
pronounced her vows in 1828, Six years later, calumnious
reports, ignorantly credited, and wickedy propagated, led to
the destruction of this beautiful convent by an infuriated
and incendiary mob, The ten nuns composing the com-
munity, with their fifty boarders, were driven from their
peaceful home, and the heights of Mount Benedict, lately
crowned by a fair structure, the home of piety and learning,
presented only the dismal scene of a total ruin. On hearing
of the terrible disaster, a pressing invitation had been sent
to our dear sister Ursulines to come to us,
After an unsuccessful attempt to obtain redress and aid to
restore their convent, the long journey by carriage was under-
1—Two years later, the two young sisters, Susan and Josephine,
left Georgetown, the one for Three Rivers, as a pupil, the other for
the Ursuline Convent in Boston, where Mary the eldest was
shortly after professed. Josephine returned to Georgetown, and
in 1833 accompanied a foundation of the Visitation to Kaskaskia,
where she made profession and lived to celebrate her Golden Ju-
bilee. Susan made profession at the Ursulines of ‘Three Rivers, in
1833, under the name of Sister Mary Joseph. She died in 1837.
Samuel, after two years at the Jesuit novitiate in Maryland, was
sent to Rome where he was ordained priest, and returned to his
native home in 1840. After a holy life, he died in 1864, in the 50th
year of his age. He had tilled with ability the ottices of vice-presi-
dent and professor of Georgetown college, president of Gonzaga
college (Washington). The last of the family disappeared with the
Visitation nun Josephine Barber, who died at St. Louis, Mo. 1888,
sent
nal
lict,
ious
xd to
ated
com-
their
ately
ning,
aring
THE MISSES MARY AND ABIGAIL BARBER 65
taken under the guidance of Father Maguire who was return-
ing from Rome. The nuns reached Quebec on the Feast of
all Saints (1834),
Further efforts were made for the restoration of the con-
vent during the following years, and it was not until six
years had elapsed that, in 1840, the little community finally
consented to disband, resigning themselves to the mysterious
will of divine Providence, Two choir sisters, Mary Benedict
Barber and Mary John Harrison, with a lay-sister, obtained
permission to remain in the Monastery of Quebec,
In the mean time, Sister Mary Benedict had taken her place
in our class-rooms in 1835, as teacher of English literature
and composition, giving lessons at other hours on the harp or
the piano.
Thoroughly educated and accomplished, as well as fully
imbued with the spirit of the religious state, her influence
over the pupils was most salutary, The few ladies now
living, who had the advantage of being under her tuition,
must still remember her as’one of the most distinguished
among that staff of qualified teachers who labored in the
institution from 1835 to 1847,
Not only among the pupils, but also among the novices,
were the superior acquirements of Sister Mary Benedict
turned to good account, especially by lessons in English
literature and in elocution. Her penmanship, which was
a free and graceful running-hand, may be said to have
imparted a character to the writing of the nuns as well as
of the pupils of that perio...
But her too brief and most useful career was destined to
receive the sanctifying touch of suffering, patiently endured,
and this for nearly a whole year. It was during the summer
and autumn of 1847 that an acute spinal affection began the
5
66 REMINISCENCES OF FI¥YTY YEARS
slow undermining of her health, till all her energy no longer
sufficed to bear her to the class-room nor even to the dearer
chapel.
It was a touching sight to behold that patient victim on
her couch of suffering, where her wonted grace and gentleness
of demeanor seemed to triumph over pain, even as the malady
itself was triumphing over the energies of life and the skill
of medical assistance.
With angelic piety our dear Sister had received the last
rites of the holy Church; still she lingered peacefully,
awaiting the coming of the Bridegroom till His call was
heard on the 9th of May, whilst the community, her own _
Sister among them, surrounded in prayer the bedside of the
dyi, ;one, She has heard the signal ; she raises her emaciated
hana to form the sacred sign of the cross, then bowing her
head she calmly expires, recalling to our mind by her attitude
and by the sweet expression of her placid features, the death-
sigh of our Blessed Lord when He exclaimed: “ Father, into
thy hands I oommend my spirit.”
Miss Abigail Barber had commenced her novitiate at
the same time and pronounced her vows in the Old Monas-
tery (1828), on the same day that her sister Mary had per-
formed that great act of the religious life in the convent of
Mount Benedict. Our Ursuline, known as Sister St. Francis
Xavier, was destined to fill a long career, even to the seven-
tie'b year of her life and fifty-second of her profession.
Gifted, as were all the members of the family, carefully
educated, and nurtured in piety from her infancy, our good
Sister possessed all the requirements of an Ursuline as a
teacher of young girls. Yet was her usefulness, through exces-
sive diffidence in her own abilities, necessarily confined to
the elementary classes, where however, her success was most
st
ed
1er
de
th-
ito
at
as-
per-
t of
1cis
yene-
lly
rood
as a
ces-
d to
most
THE MISSES MARY AND ABIGAIL BARBIER 67
satisfactory. In whatever office sne was employed, order,
nea‘ness and despatch were paramount, The duties of that
office were a sacred trust for which she would be strictly
accountable to God. In this conviction, every moment of
time was precious, every point of the rule strictly observed.
Whatever labor was committed to her was performed with
perfection. ‘ Do what you do with all your might,” seemed
to be her motto. To this day her embroideries and fine
sewing, her pen-printing and embellishing are models of
their kind, The piety of her childhood was never lost; its
fragrance perfumed her whole life. Confidence in the Blessed
Virgin was especially a source of comfort and strength to her
on every occasion. Hovering around the altar to which she
would bear the first tender blossoms in spring and the freshest
flowers in summer, she loved to represent herself as “ Mary’s
lamb,” a title which suggested her complete reliance on her
heavenly Mother.
Although our good Sister St. Francis Xavier lived to an
advanced age, her health was never robust. In the sufferings
and infirmities to which she was subject, she was fortified
and consoled by letters from her admirable mother, who
would urge her to bear her illness“ not through custom or
necessity, but because our Lord is pleased to send the
suffering, often recollecting that He stands behind the lattice,
looking on and counting the degrees of glory He is to obtain
from each act of meekness and resignation ”,
A severe stroke of paralysis in 1879 left our dear Sister
helpless and for a time unconscious. Recovering partially
the use of her faculties, it was consoling to us and especially,
to herself that she was able to receive holy Communiom
from time to time, as wellas to join in the pious aspirations
suggested to her. Her death occurred on the 3rd of March,
68 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
_ $a
1880. Her whole life from the age of seven had been spent
in the House of the Lord; to the innocence of a enild had
succeeded the angelic functions of the religious life,
The third daughter of this remarkable family, Miss Susan
Barber, entered the novitiate of the Ursulines of Three Rivers
in December 1830, With the white veil, she took the name
of Sister St. Joseph, and pronounced her vows, March 19th,
1833. Her notice written by the nuns of Three Rivers repre-
sents her as a model religious, remarkable by her fervor and
generosity in the practice of all the virtues of the religious
state, especially that of holy obedience. This lovely flower of
the cloister was gathered by the heavenly Bridegroom, on
January 24th, 1837. Sister St. Joseph was only twenty-
seven years old !,”
The name of Miss Elizabeth Harrison, in religion Sister
Mary John, later Sister Mary Joseph, has been mentioned in
connection with that of Sister Mary Benedict. The services
both rendered in our institution were highly appreciated, while
both found a second home in the Old Monastery where they
were admitted as permanent members of the community in
1840.
Received at the age of sixteen among the Ursulines of
Boston, Sister Mary Joseph was admitted to her religious
1—The youngest daughter, “ the baby Josephine,” became a
Visitandine. She wrote, at request, an interesting account of the
conversion of her father and mother, which under the title of “ Life
-of Mrs. Jerusha Barber,” has been published among the Catholic
Memoirs compiled by Rt. Rev. L. de Goesbriand, in 1885.
Sister Mary Josephine lived to celebrate the 50th anniversary of
her religious profession, and died in the Visitation Convent ot St.
Louis, Mo., 1888.
2 Fh
=>)
—
THE MISSES MARY AND ABIGAIL BARBER
profession in 1824, On her arrival in Quebec ten years later,
she was an experienced and thoroughly qualified teacher of
music, both vocal and instrumental, including theory and com-
position, with the whole range of instruments usually taught
in institutions for young ladies. Sacred music was to her a
link between her soul and God, In her thoughts of heaven,
it was the celestial orchestra, the golden harps of the angelic
choirs, the thrilling chords of instruments unknown to mor-
tal ear, that awakened in her heart a corresponding thrill of
the love of Him to whom her whole being was consecrated,
Her own admittance to that heavenly home was preceded
by no long suffering or apprehension, A few hours of warning
on the eve of the great Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, during
which the last sacraments were administered, followed by
a day of unconsciousness, and all was ever. She had been
called to the eternal feast for the possession of which she had
so often and so ardently sighed.
Sister St. Joseph Harrison was in her sixtieth year, and
the thirty-second of her religious professiun, at her decease,
June 30th, 1866 3.
I—The prospect of restoring their convent had kept the little com-
munity together until 1840, At that date the ecclesiasticai superiors
decided that three communities of Ursulines, those of Quebec, of
Three Rivers and of New Orleans, would “ share the spoils.”
The two eldest professed and a lay-sister remained in Quebec,
the two following in rank went to Three Rivers, whilé two choir-
sisters and another lay sister were gladly received by the Ursulines
of New Orleans. In each of the convents, these good Sisters
rendered important services and gave great edification. Sister
St. Augustine O'Keefe governed the community of her adoption
several years. All have now gone.
70 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
CHAPTER X
1849
FROM QUEBEC TO GALVESTON
As cloistered nuns never travel merely for the sake of a
change of place, there must have been some serious religious
motive for the journey announced in the above heading, which
was undertaken by Sisters Jeanne de Chantal and St. Thomas
in 1849,
Two years previous to this date, Bishop Odin, lately
appointed to the new diocese of Galveston, had obtained from
the Ursulines of New Orleans a few Sisters to found a con-
vent of their order in the Island City. As in the beginning
of nearly all similar institutions, the little community had to
struggle with many difficulties. “ The harvest promised to
be abundant, but the laborers were few,” and already the
worthy bishop had authorized the Superior, Mother St.
Arsene, to apply to the Ursulines of Quebec for aid to accom-
plish the foundation of the new convent.
Letters had been exchanged without obtaining the desired
result when, in August, 1849, the zealous missionary bishop
appeared at the parlor-grating to plead before the Mother
Superior and her council, the cause of the little community
of Galveston, The eloquence of the worthy prelate must have
been very persuasive to have obtained the services of two
sisters from the Monastery of Quebec. The deeply religious
heart of Mother St. Gabriel could not refuse the sacrifice,
when it was urged that it would promote the glory of God
and the salvation of souls,
The measure having been duly discussed and sanctioned,
it remained to make choice of the Sisters for the important
FROM QUEBEC TO GALVESTON 71
undertaking. Sister Ste. Jeanne de Chantal and Sister St.
Thomas, both highly educated and well qualified in many
ways, were nominated, After consulting God in prayer, they
generously accepted the mission as a favorable opportunity
to signalize their zeal for the glory of their Divine Master.
The preparations for the departure need not be described,
nor the emotions excited by an event so unusual in the Old
Monastery. Friends and former pupils were loud in their
expostulations. “ How could the dear Mothers endure the
fatigues of such a journey, and such a change of climate ?
How could they go among strangers, to labor with them and
give them their confidence and affection ?”
But our Sisters remained firm in their purpose and quietly
prepared for their departure. At three o’clock p, m., on the
4th of October, after a reiterated embrace an1 many a heart-
felt “ aw revoir ”, the tearful farewells had been said and our
dear Sisters, now in their secular travelling dresses, issued
from the cloister to meet our venerated Father Maguire, who
had volunteered, as on a former occasion, to be the conductor
of the missionary Ursulines as far as New York.
Friendly greetings awaited them at the conventual door,
whence a covered carriage soon conveyed them to the quay,
near which lay the ster mer destined to bear them far from
their convent home.
The cordial and sisterly reception tendered them in Mon-
treal by the good Sisters of the Congregation, many of whom
were personal friends of the Ursulines; the glad welcome
received at the Hotel-Dieu, at the convents of the Grey
Nuns and of the Good Shepherd during the three days the
travelling company tarried in that city ; all was duly appre-
ciated, and recorded with many expressions of gratitude and
affection in the letters addressed to the community by our
Ursuline Sisters,
72 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
At the present day a journey across the United States to
New Orleans would be accomplished in afew days by a con-
tinuous line of cars; but far different was the undertaking
fifty years ago. To our younger readers it will be a novel
experience to follow the missionary colony as they slowly
proceed, now by the cars, now by steamboat, without being
spared the experiment of a twenty-four hours’ journey by
stuge-coach.
From Montreal to St. John’s the conveyance was by the
cars, exchanged there for the steamer United States which
they designate as a “ floating palace,” Then the cars again
from Whitehall to Troy ; thence by steamboat, a varied
journey through the unrivalled scenery along the Hudson
through ae State of New York, in the company of Father
Maguire and several Oblate Fathers, en rowte also for
Texas ; such is the itinerary of the three days’ journey
from Montreal to New York. Mother de Chantal, when
traversing the same region some twenty years previous, little
foresaw this return to her native land and to the home of her
childhood, for it is at her brother’s house in Northmore street
that the travellers are invited on arriving in the great metro-
polis.
bishop Odin welcomed the missionary sisters with the
affection of a father, but he would be detained in the city a
fortnight longer to transact the business which had brought him
hither from his distant diocese. In the mean time, the nuns
are not left in solitude. Father Maguire is their most intelli-
gent and attentive cicerone, and often are they invited from
the palatial residence of Mr, White, in Northmore street,
now to visit the Ladies of the Sacred Heart at Manhattan-
ville, now to the college of the Jesuits in Fordham. Another
day they call on the Bishop of New York, Dr. O’Connor ;
or they perform their devotions in the church of the Trans-
FROM QUEBEC TO GALVESTON 73
figuration, they assist at Vespers in the French church, where
they hear singing that brings tears to their eyes, reminding
them of their convent home, Father Bernard O'Reilly is
joyful at meeting his Ursuline friends and praises their under-
taking,
Nowhere perhaps was their visit more welcome than in
Morissania, at the house of Mr. Harrison, brother of our
good Sister St. Joseph. ‘“ There, says Mother St. Thomas,
we received real American hospitality.” Oftenest they are
at Sister de Chantal’s home in Northmore street, where the
bishop comes to cheer them, and where they discover that
Father Maguire is “ the most genial of conversationalists,”
so effectually did the good Father exert himself to dispel
their homesickness.
At last, Bishop Odin and his company were ready to
pursue their journey. Our Sisters bid a sad adieu to their
dear aged Father Maguire !, rightly apprehending that he
had given them his blessing for the last time.
Our readers will remember that in 1849, the longer
lines of the railroad-network which now covers the
United-States were not laid; therefore it may prove interes-
ting to follow our missionary band as they proceed westward,
so moderately that it will be the 15th of November when
they reach the Crescent city. On the 25th of October, they
traversed Jersey City and took the cars for Philadelphia,
en eT ~ sneneaeieereneneen tenner ee a 0 ener
1—The grief of our Sisters at the thought of bidding Father
Maguire a tinal adieu won them the favor of possessing his portrait
a daguerreotype, the only style of photograph then known. On their
return to Quebec, this portrait, supplemented by the vivid mental
picture our artist Mr. Theophile Hamel had retained of his vener-
able friend, enabled him to gratify the community by producing an
excellent likeness, an oil painting, life-size, doubly esteemed by
all: who were personally acquainted both with the painter and the
original.
‘ * " * WINE TRE ceca © a eee ee, OE TR PRA pi et Re) SE rE
t
74 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
their company consisting of seven persons: the Bishop, three
Oblate Fathers, and Mr, White, Mother de Chantal’s brother.
They could not but admire the city laid out by William
Penn, its princely residences of white marble, its spacious
avenues, its broad streets bordered with trees, its lovely
parks and picturesque environs, where the crystal waters of
the Schuylkill reflect the features of an unrivalled landscape.
In Philadelphia they were joined by three other travellers,
a Mrs. Malone with her daughter, and another young lady, a
postulant for the convent in Galveston. They reach Balti-
more by the cars, and have only time to see the cathedral
with its white marble altars and rare paintings, when they
are again en route through pleasant country scenes, diver-
sified by the elegant residences of the wealthy.
Leaving Harper’s Ferry at noon they have reached Cum-
berland on the Potomac, the terminus of the railroad, 180
miles from Baltimore, at six o’clock p.m. They are now at
the foot of the Alleghanies; the sun is sinking behind the
beautiful forest-crested heights of these mountain ridges
through which they must pass, There is time only for a
hasty supper in preparation for the night’s travelling.
Around the hotel are ranged eight or ten vehicles to which
are harnessed horses whose neighing and prancing tell of
their impatience to begin the journey. Our missionary band
of ten persons is quite sufficient to fill one of the coaches,
and now they strike off into the solitude of the mountain-
road, refreshed by the cool invigorating forest-breeze, and
highly interested by the novelty of this moonlight scene,
whose beauties they would doubtless have enjoyed still more
in the full light of noonday. There is no sleeping in a stage-
coach, but the night is enliverad by many pleasant anecdotes
related by the good bishop, who has seen the Alps, the
monks of Mount St. Bernard, and has met with many amus-
oo = lA Le ee 7
FROM QUEBEC TO GALVESTON 75
ing adventures. Morning finds them still in the grand old
forest. A bishop and a priest are there, yet no mass can be
said, and the only music heard is the sound of the rolling
cavalcade and the occasional shouts of the drivers, The des-
cent to Union Town at six o’clock allowed them to halt and
take breakfast; then again they pursue their way, till at
Brownsville they exchange their carriage for a small steamer
on the Monongahela, which in due time lands them at
Pittsburg.
The large and opulent city which has succeeded to Fort
Duquesne and the habitations of the Indians is soon left
behind, and their next halt is at Cincinnati, where the Bishop
is constrained to remain with the Oblate Fathers, one of them
being too ill to continue the journey. The nuns proceed
under the protection of Mr. White to Louisville. Happy are
they to rest a while at Galt House, to hear Mass at the
cathedral, to be graciously welcomed by Bishop Spalding, and
to receive words of encouragement and a special blessing on
their future labors from the venerable Bishop Flaget, whose
saintly career is now near its close. Cordially welcomed by
the Sisters of Nazareth, founded by Bishop David of saintly
memory, they also visit and accept the hospitality of the
nuns of the Good Shepherd, a community of sixteen nuns,
governed by Sister Serena, a Scotch lady, whose assistant is
a cousin of the noted Father Matthew.
Only on the 6th of November were our travellers on board
the steamer Glencoe,which carried, besides the usual passenger-
freight, a heavy cargo of live-stock destined for the market
at New Orleans. They are rejoined by the bishop and the
Oblate Fathers two days later, and continue their way.
Sunday, November 11th, finds them still on board, No mass,
of course, but the bishop at the request of the captain of the
boat, conducts Divine service at noon, reading in surplice and
76 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
stole the beautiful prayers from the ritual, and preaching a
sermon “ which makes so profound an impression that he is
requested to preach again in the evening.” After sailing four
days upon the bosom of the majestic Mississipi, noticing “ the
vast forests of Arkansas, the orange groves of Louisiana, the
fields of cotton and sugar-cane, the charming habitations of
the planters and the little huts of the negroes,” every where
something new to remind them of the vast distance which
separates them from the shores of the St. Lawrence, they
pass Baton Rouge, and halt at Lafayette on the 15th of
November !,
Here the c»ptain lands his live stock, the boat undergoes
a thorough irrigation, the passengers attend to the duties of
their toilet with unwonted care, for they are nearing the
great city which lies there spread out on its low plain, as if to
bask itself more completely in the burning rays of an almost
tropical sun,
On landing, the whole missionary band proceed to the
bishop’s palace, a vast edifice which had formerly been the
convent of the Ursulines. Soon our Sisters were on the way
to the stately new convent, delightfully situated at some three
miles distance from the city. There they were welcomed
as old friends by Mother Ste. Seraphine and her community,
among whom were three Sisters well known and well beloved,
the Sisters St. Charles from Quebec, the Sisters St. Augustine
and St. Clare, formerly of Boston, but also from Quebec, as
our readers may remember.
1—Our travellers remark that any other boat but the Glencoe
would have taken but five days for the voyage from Louisville to
New Orleans in 1849. In 1816 it required forty-six days. The
Mississippi in those days was the river of accidents. Our Sisters
learned that in 1842, sixty-eight steamboats had perished; two
years previous to their voyage, thirty-six.
FROM QUEBEC TO GALVESTON 77
After a most agreeable sojourn of twelve days with these
amiable Sisters, our missionary band proceed five hundred
miles further to Galveston.
The newly founded convent was but an ordinary dwelling-
house with few accommodations either for the nuns or the
pupils, Our Sisters were warmly welcomed by Mothers St.
Arsene, St, Stanislaus, and the rest of the little colony,
and soon had their offices assigned them. To Mother de
Chantal was confided the formation of the seven novices; to
Mother St. Thomas, the direction of the classes as mistress-
general, The climate was not equally favorable to the
Canadian Sisters, To Mother de Chantal, who had always
sufiered from the rigors of a Canadian winter, the heat
moderated by the sea-breezes seemed to impart new life and
vigor while Mother St. Thomas experienced its debilitating
effects to such a degree, that all her natural energy was
insufficient to enable her to continue her labors beyond the
period of seven years,
At the first intimation of her desire to rejoin her commu-
nity on account of her failing health, our Superior, Mother
St. Andrew, wrote as follows:
My beloved sister,
I received your communication of the 18th November and hasten
to answer it. My dear Sister St. Thomas, you are welcomed home
by all your mothers and sisters, who will press you most affection-
ately to their heart. I spoke to our worthy Bishop on the subject ;
he promised me to write himself to Bishop Udin.
Write to me immediately, and let me know at what time you will
be able to leave, that I may take the steps necessary to forward
you the funds to defray your expenses.
Your departure will be a blow to poor little Mére de Chantal, but
she must resign herself since your health compels you to abandon
your post. Give my best love to the dear little Mére and the com-
muaity, remaining.
‘cy beloved sister,
your ever devoted,
Sister St. ANDREW.
78 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
On her return voyage Sister St. Thomas was fortunate to
have the companionship of a Texan lady, who was on her
way by the same steamship from the Gulf to the city of
New York. For the rest of the journey, a protector had been
provided for her in the person of Mr. Hamel, a respectable
citizen of Quebec, whose business as a merchant had taken
him to New York very opportunely. She reached home on
May 14th, and met, as Mother St. Andrew had promised her,
with a hearty welcome from all her Sisters,
Mother Ste. Jeanne de Chantal, in the mean time, had been
appointed Superior, and before her return to the Old Monas-
tery in 1868, had aided in founding a convent in San Anto-
nio de Bexar, an enchanting spot noted for the salubrity of
its atmosphere, its gardens of roses and its general health-
fulness. But Mother de Chantal was now on the verge of
her three score years; she felt their weight, and longed for
the peaceful retreat where she had commenced her religious
life. It is one of the prudent and maternal provisions of our
rules, that a member of the community has always a right to
return to the house where she has made profession, and
most cordially was our dear Mother invited home. Escorted
by her loving brother, Mr, Louis White, she traversed the
continent in a few, days and with far less fatigue than in
1849, to meet with the warmest welcome from the com-
munity.
Our readers will notice in the biographical sketch of this
esteemed mother, that she was still enabled to accomplish
the duties of important offices confided to her here, till her
last malady opened to her the gates of the heavenly City in
1885, seventeen years after her return to her first convent
home.
9m =
this
lish
her
y in
vent
REV. GEORGE L, LEMOINE, CHAPLAIN 79
CHAPTER XI
1854 - 1889
REV, GEORGE L, LEMOINE, CHAPLAIN
In the successor of our venerated and regretted chaplain,
Very Rev. Thomas Maguire, we were blessed with another
true friend and father, whose inappreciable qualities and
eminent services during the next thirty years would challenge
the lasting gratitude of the community.
Rev. George Louis Lemoine, on whom the sacred office of
the priesthood had been conferred in Quebec, March 16th,
1839, had exercised the functions of his sacred ministry
during fifteen years, in different parishes or in the scattered
Catholic settlements along the Laurentides, These humble
duties of parish priest or missionary were not of a nature to
make him feel competent to replace so eminent an eccle-
siastic as the Vicar General, Very Rev. Thoraas Maguire.
The position was accepted however with simplicity, in that
spirit of faith and submission to the Divine Will for which
our future chaplain was so remarkable.
Entering upon the duties of his office, he won pupils as
well as teachers by the suavity of his manners, by his kind-
ness and the fatherly interest he manifested on every occasion
in all that related to their welfare. The duties of his charge
were his only concern ; his diligence and application in their
accomplishment could not be surpassed.
Weekly instructions, suited to the cloistered congregation
gathered in the convent chapel on Sunday mornings, confer-
ences to the nuns, to the novices and to the Children of Mary
at stated periods, weekly instructions in catechism to the
pupils, and their spiritual direction from preparation for
80 REM.iNISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
firs; Communion to the end of their studies—not to enu-
merate the other labors and duties essential to the priestly
office and the charge of souls—such was the rule of life
marked out to himself by our indefatigable chaplain, and
strictly adhered to during the long period of his fruitful and
duly appreciated ministration, A soul to direct, to console, to
absolve, was to our good Father the most sacred and dearest
employ ; every act that tended to promote the spiritual good
of his flock was a privilege not to be easily relinquished, The
lively faith, the piety with which he celebrated the Holy
Mysteries, was capable of inspiring fervor and devotion to all
who assisted at his daily mass,
As a director of souls, Father Lemoine was gentle and
sympathetic, yet firm and deliberate; slow in counsel and
prudent above all, both in speech and action, while the deep
sincerity of his charity was such that each individual soul
felt safer in his hands than in her own.
The devotions peculiar to the Order were lovingly culti-
vated by our good chaplain. The legend of Saint Ursula
and her companions, rendered palpable during the middle
ages by confraternities in the great institutions of learning;
the prophetic zeal of Saint Angela, inspiring her at that criti-
cal period of the sixteenth century to found an order devoted
to the instruction of youth; the heroic courage of our Vene-
rable Mother, of Madame de la Peltrie and their companions,
foundresses of this monastery ; these where themes on which
he delighted to expatiate, deriving therefrom salutary teachings
and precious encouragements for the souls committed to his
charge.
The hermit-life which a chaplain of the Ursulines is
expected to live had seemed to him at first an intolerable
solitude and constraint; but in the accomplishment of its
REV. GEORGE L. LEMOINE, CHAPLAIN 81
Ne ee _ —
duties, imposed upen him by divine Providence, it became a
source of peace and consolation, His silent room was as the
gate of heaven; the convent was his little world, his own
sweet home
“ Beloved o’er all the world beside.”
It would be superfluous to say that in the improvements
which from year to year have been introduced, adding to the
dimensions of the Monastery or its salubrity and conveniences,
our worthy chaplain ever concurred with hearty good will.
Often was it at his suggestion that they were undertaken.
This was the case particularly in varying the means of
amusement and out-door exercise in the play-grounds of
Notre Dame de Grace. The Russian snow-hill which now
rises as if by magic as soon as the month of December has
deposited its yearly tribute upon the frozen ground; the
long arcades where our young pedestrians can enjoy a walk,
sheltered from summer’s suns and winter’s storms, both owed
their origin to the thoughtful advice of our good father, Year
after year would being new proofs of his anxiety to multiply
the innocent enjoyments of the hours of recreation, thereby
contributing to the great interests of hilarity, health and con-
tentment,
The different sodalities, introduced to promote piety and
form the character of the pupils, were at all times fostered
and encouraged by the zealous Director of the Children of
Mary, whose office and special joy it was to proclaim the
fortunate candidates and invest them with the insignia of
their respective Associations.
The pupils of those years, as well as their elders admitted
during the month of August forthe exercises of the spiritual
retreat, have not forgotten how pressingly the Director of St.
6
82 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
Angela’s Arch-confraternity would invite them to recur to
the protection of the Virgin of Brescia, to take her as their
model in the practice of piety, the faithful discharge of the
duties of their state, and especially in zeal for the salvation
of souls,
Other pleasing recollections will be awakened in the minds
of former pupils by the mention of quarterly or final exa-
minations, at which our good Father was wont to preside,
attended by the Superior and Mothers of the community,
They have not forgotten the benevolent smile which encour-
aged the timid or the beginner, the look of interest which
awaited the solving of a problem, the success of an experi-
ment, or the recitation of a poem listened to as attentively as
if it had been new and not perhaps heard then for the hun-
dredth time,
In their literary essays especially the pupils were encour-
aged by written appreciations, brief, but always delicate and
judicious, Their manuscripts, under the title of the “ Literary
Butterfly,” or “ Echoes from the Cloister,” took the form of a |
monthly periodical, which paid its regular visits to the cha-
plain’s room from 1855 to the celebration of our good Father’s
Silver Jubilee, in 1879.
Nor were the pupils forgotten when far from their Alma
Mater, How beaming with pleasure was the countenance of
their former spiritual Father, whenever they would call upon
him or greet him at their homes! How delighted he was to
hear of their welfare, how grieved when they were overtaken
by sorrow or misfortune ! It was chiefly in these circumstances
that they were cheered by letters which they highly valued
and carefully preserved, The monthly Mass offered for their
intentions, the sweet hymn to St. Angela, still remind the
inmates of the Monastery, to pray for the dear absent ones,
REV.GEORGE L, LEMOINE, CHAPLAIN 83
exposed to the dangers of the world, battling amid the shoals
and breakers of the rough sea of life,
But our generous friend found an opportunity to prove
that the sacred precinets of the Monastery were dearer to
him than his own life, which he voluntarily exposed for
their preservation, ‘The occasion was briefly as follows,
At a late hour in the evening of the 20th of May, 1864, a fire
broke out on Parlor street, and in spite of the bast efforts of
the fire-brigade, the two dwelling-houses opposite the church
were consumed, A dense crowd of spectators witnessed the
scene with the utmost alarm, in view of the danger to the
convent and the city.
While the firemen were striving to arrest the progress of
the conflagration, Father Lemoine’s attentive eye suddenly
discovered a kindling mass along the eaves of the church-
roof, which was lined since many a year with swallows’ nests.
Rushing to the nearest engine,and finding his appeal unheeded,
he seizes the hose, and there, with the flames of the burning
houses upon him, he directs a streain of water upon the
glowing coals which very shortly would have inflamed the
interior, setting fire to the church and endangering the whole
establishment, But at what a cost had this feat been achieved !
He was removed from his perilous position, happily before
it was too late; but his face and hands were found to be so
badly injured, that only after six weeks’ seclusion in his room
under careful treatment, was he enabled to offer again
the holy sacrifice at that altar which, but for his heroic
daring, might have been buried under the ruins of the sacred
edifice, The gratitude of the nuns need not be told, nor their
lasting appreciation of the generous deed.
Father Lemoine had filled the office of chaplain for several
years, when he was invited to review the manuscript history
84 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
of the Monastery, upon which one of the sisterhood had
bestowed much patient labor and research. The work met at
once his hearty approval, but diffident of his own judgment
he requested leave to call upon his good friend, Rev. Antoine
Racine, to read with him the long and captivating pages,
which revealed to them the secrets of by-gone years in the
old Monastery founded by Venerable Mother of the Incarna-
tion. Thus passed many a long evenin® watch, after the
fatigue of the usual occupations of the day. When the work
was ready for the press, the labor of aiding in the correction
of the proof-sheets was not less patiently pursued, till in
print the work formed the four large volumes known as the
Histoire des Ursulines de Québec,
From year to year our good chaplain’s patronal feast
of Saint George was celebrated throughout the cloister
with the zest usually displayed on such occasions, Festal
offerings, tokens of gratitude and esteem, addresses in prose
and verse, everything was appreciated and responded to with
true delicacy and refinement.
The yearly recurrence of St. George’s day, April 23rd,
could not fail to be the occasion of a special féte in honor of
the good Father chaplain, After a few years, the programme
in all the details of music, rec‘tations, although varying
etc.,, seemed to have settled itse.. :n an invariable groove
as far as regarded the complimentary address and the
song: one of these must be in French, the other in English ;
“ such was the ule.”
This féte in Father Lemoine’s estimation was the pupils
own féte, their special right and privilege. In this view,
how great was his own enjoyment on such occasions! It
was in proportion to his love for the dear children, and that
was vast and unfeigned.,
REV. GEORGE L. LEMOINE, CHAPLAIN RA
In 1877, our good chaplain’s feast was celebrated by a little
poetical dialogue—a pastoral it might be called, perhaps—
which seemed to have a special charm for the dear aged
Father. He was then past sixty years of age, and had been
with us nearly a quarter of a century,
A group of little half-boarders dressed in white, and wear-
ing bright wreaths of tlowers, open the scene by advancing to
surround the good Father, while they sing :
Haste to offer sweetest flowers ;
Haste with hearts all light and gay
Gratefu: thoughts and wishes blending
On our Father's festal day
Ist Maiden (spoken)
The paschal time’s here, but I know ’tis in vai.
To search all the fields for a flower,
Cold April out-stretched on the frost mantled plain
Has no thought to adorn her a bower.
The snow-drifts lie cheerless where flower beds should rise,
Nor a bud nor a green leaf is seen,
Yet this is the day when, bengath other skies,
All the flowers hasten out with their queen.
(Sung) Haste to ofter, etc.
2nd Maiden.
But why should we pine for the sweet fading things
That endure but three months of the year ?
The happy occasion St. George’s day brings,
Calls for emblems more lasting and dear.
Ah, I know where the summer hides all the year round,
Lovely flowers shed a perfume so sweet ;
Their light stems spring up from the rich loamy ground,
And they climb till their bright clusters meet.
(Sung) Haste to offer, etc.
86 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
3rd Maiden.
Gi » flowers from the green-house, the bay-window, come
In , our worth aud your loveliness rare ;
Not a day in the year but I find you in bloom ;
Sweet emblems! our feelings declare.
In our hearts have been nurtured such flowers, and each day
Is their perfume ascending to heaven.
Be it yours, lovely blossoms, our thoughts to convey,
Not to words is such high office given.
(Sung) Haste to offer etc.
4th Maiden
Let the breath of the rose fill the air with perfume ;
Tis the language of sweet gratitude.
Bring the violets for memory ; give ull the flowers room,
As with feeling, they all were endued.
The lily shall point to the pure sky above,
The daisy its bright hues display.
As we children surrounding our Father with love,
Sing: ‘‘ Long life to our friend! Many happy returns
Of the great St. George’s day.
Another group of little ones with flowers sing, each in
turn :
I've a rose from my own window,
Where I’ve watched it day by day
Now I have the same to offer,
That’s the reason I’m so gay.
In our hearts are sweeter roses,
If we love what’s right and good ;
They grow well by teachings holy,
Ah! to whom the gratitude?
Haste to offer, etc.
2nd little maiden.
I have lilies white and blooming,
Jasmine brighter than a star ;
I shall place them on the altar,
Where they may be seen afar.
REV. GEORGE L. LEMOINE, CHAPLAIN 87
When our Father sees them glowing,
He will think of souls so pure ;
He will know our prayers are rising
With his own the more secure,
Haste to offer, etc.
3rd little maiden.
[ have mignonnette so lovely,
And the precious immortelle ;
I have pinks and lovely pansies,
All the flowers we love so well.
Hear them sing: Live long and happy
Worthy Pastor, dearest friend !
Deign to smile upon your children,
As our voices sweetly blend.
The whole school sing :
Through long years preserve him,
Heaven! from every ill.
Send him health to labor
For thy vineyard still.
Where his hand has planted
In the fertile soil.
Ah! may fruit abundant
Recompense his toil.
Dear and honored Father,
’Tis St. George’s prayer
More than ours will bring thee
Gifts and blessings rare.
Like him, thou 1n glory
Shalt all happy dwell.
Ah! may we surround thee,
Sharing heaven as well,
The 25th anniversary of our good Father's installation as
Chaplain of the Ursulines (1879) offered an opportunity of
which we gladly availed ourselves for a more ample demon-
stration.
88 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
For the first time in the annals of the monastery, it is
recorded that a chaplain has attained the measure of a Silver
Jubilee in the office of spiritual director of the community.
The circumstance afforded an occasion to honor the mich
esteemed and revered Father, of vhich the whole population
of the cloister would joyfully avail itself. A gathering of
clerical friends in the chaplain’s apartments, a banquet befit-
ting the occasion, after which the company would be admitted
to the reception-hall to assist at the entertainment given by
the pupils, such was the programme for the celebration of
the third of October, 1879.
Some thirty priests were able to respond to the invitation,
and fully enjoyed the convivial hour, during which the hum
of pleasant voices and frequent peals of laughter cheered all
the environs of that usually quiet corner of the monastery.
In preparation for the entertainment in the reception-hall,
Mother St. Mary had ingeniously brought out the history of
our former chaplains, each of whom was briefly characterized
in prose or verse, the whole agreeably diversified by music
and singing, and ending by a delicate eulogium of the hero
of the day. The theme was appropriately responded to by the
Vicar-General of Three Rivers, Very Rev. O. Caron who, among
other things suited to the occasion, declared he had once
enjoyed the company of Father Lemoine eight days “to love
and cherish him during forty years.” Our genial friend, Mgr
Cazeau, was as usual most happy in addressing the pupils,
and they, equally satisfied with their success in carrying out
the parts assigned them.
But the day was not yet over. Father Lemoine’s room, at
eight o’clock P. M., was filled with the same company, invited
to behold the novel spectacle of an illumination within the
cloister and—fire-works !
PE POO Te es Se ge ee
“oLgI “SGNIOML-HAWV Id SHHUNVOU AHL AO YHNNOD V
THE CLASS OF 1874 AT AN EXAMINATION 89
This part of the programme was to be executed by the
pupils of the Normal School. ‘The illumination shone forth
from the many windows of the buildings that enclose the
interior court-yard, fronting the chaplain’s apartments, The
pyrotechnic display consisted of rockets, Roman candles, etc.,
the crowning piece being the ascension of balloons, as large
as feminine hands could undertake to manage. The finale
of the evening entertainment was the singing of the Benedi-
camus Domino by the three hundred voices there assembled,
followed at once by the grand silence, which at that hour is
accustomed to reign supreme in the cloister.
That celebration of the Silver Jubilee is still remembered
by those who were witnesses of its rejoicings or who took part
in its proceedings. We shall not here attempt to tell of
other days, remembered also, but with different emotions.
Such is life !
—————
CHAPTER XII
THE CLASS IN NATURAL PHILOSOPHY AT AN EXAMIN-
ATION, 1874.
it has been mentioned already that of late years the
examination of the pupils, which formerly took place before
a large audience, was now conducted on another plan. These
examinations are mostly in writing. A part of the programme
however, is carried out in presence of the Chaplain, the
Superior, and some of the community. Of the proceedings
on these occasions, it would be superfluous to render any
further account; but on looking over some old papers we
90 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
have met with “ AN Hour avr AN EXAMINATION ” in rhyme,
which will introduce the reader as an invisible witness of
the scene. The ranks of the pupils were as follows:
Augusta Cooke, Susan Foy,
Claude Stephens, Eugénie Carrier,
Kate Coote, Hildah Andrews,
Mamie Sheehy, Valérie Rivard,
Rosie Jellett, — Emma Tessier,
Emmeline Stephens, Julia McEnry,
Josie MacCarthy, Mary Jane Cannon,
Carrie Lloyd, Charlotte Peters,
Marie Lachance, Amelia Aylwin,
Grace McDonald, Emélie Lemoine,
Mary Adams, Alphonsine Matte.
Marie Huot,
’Twas one o’clock. We class-mates, ready stood
Resolved to make the Examination good.
Just in our midst, there was a grand display
Of apparatus,—’twas no children’s play.
Already our companions seated round
Waited our tottering wisdom to confound.
But, lo! our Reverend Father now appears!
And nuns! an audience to excite our fears.
Still, nothing daunted, first rose Alphonsine,
Explaining what the learned physicians mean
By maiter, body, atom ; and of course,
Experimenting duly to enforce
These mighty truths.
—Now ’tis Emélie's turn ;
And, from her brief discourse, we all may learn
That matter is inert. Moving or still,
It cannot change its course, like us, at will.
This we must note, nor from the flying car
Sudden attempt to leap, lest borne afar
By motion we've acquired, prone on the ground
Our lifeless, mangled limbs inert be found.
THE CLASS OF 1874 At AN EXAMINATION 91
But now Amelia, with examples clear,
Tells how cohesion, bringing atoms near,
Makes solid, liquid atriform, to be
The states of bodies.—From this force set free,
Repellent forces make the atoms spread ;
One grain of musk will floods of odor shed,
One thread of gossamer, she dares maintain,
Six thousand little fibres doth contain.
Charlotte takes up the theme: “Now [ pretend,
That nothing God has made can ever end
By human means. If heated by the flame
Of lighted lamp, water will change its name ;
Gone from our sight, in vapor’s viewless form
To night ’twill fall again, in dew or storm,
No atom yet is lost, since first was spoke
That word creative which the world awoke.”
Who will dispute the point? Not Mary Jane,
Nor Julia either, seeking to explain
Attraction’s laws, both when it binds the spheres,
Or guides the drop that trickles down in tears ;
Or when, through tiny pores our lamp it feeds,
Acting against itself to serve our needs ;
Now bids, in measured stroke, the vendulum swing,
To mark how minutes fly on rapid wing.
But hasten we, for Carrie waiting stands
To show what force becomes, in skilful hands :
The lever on its fulcrum softly moves,
And thus man’s power is multiplied, she proves.
The wheel and aale, the obedient screw,
The six mechanic powers pass in review.
Carrie has made us wise; and when next year,
The wintry scenes around us bright and clear,
We, speeding down the snow-hill, loud shall cry
“Tt is the plane inclined that makes us fly.”
92
REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
Gracie and Mary pass to other themes,
And purest water bright before us gleains.
The bending siphon lifts the yielding tide—
Don’t say who hastened then to Gracie’s side—
While Mary, placid, gravely weighs with care
The mimic crown, in water and in air ;
“ Archimedes himself, she says, thus sought
To know whether the king was wronged in aught.”
Again the theme is changed: of air they speak
And all its wondrous properties they seek.
“Tis heavy, ‘tis elastic, twill expand ;
Compressed beyond a limit ’twill withstand.
It presses on us like a sea of lead,
Full fifteen pounds on every inch that ’s spread. ”’
All this experiments most clearly proved,
While fountains gushed, and ponderous weights were moved.
"Twas Marie, Josie, Rose and Emeline,
With Cédulie and Emma, six, in fine,
Who all these curious properties discussed,
Drawing conclusions, all approved as just.
Mamie one point forgotten called to mind
And showed how falling bodies sometimes find
Their speed retarded. First, with skill and care,
From a long tube, she has expelled the air.
A guinea and a feather downward tend,
With the same force, and side by side, descend,
Proving, triumphant, that ’tis air alone
Prevents a feather falling like a stone.
Once more the subject changes. 'Tis for Kate
To tell how through the air waves undulate,
Beating with nicest finger, every note
That issues mellow, from a tuneful throat,
Recounting, thro’ the ear-drum, to our mind,
The thousands secrets which were else confined.
Oh, sound! what power to soothe! what charms untold
When thy full waves, harmonious, are unrolled !
What stores of wisdom, else in thought concealed,
At thy command, instantaneous, stand revealed !
——
THE CLASS OF 1874 AT AN EXAMINATION
But nature’s brightest page is wanting still.
Tis yours, Va/érie, to unfold with skill,
The theory of /ight; to tell the laws
Given to the sunbeam, by the great First Cause.
“ Bright messenger! Like thought, it leaps o’er space.
Lifting the gloom that veils fair Nature's face.
[ts three-fold beam, now spreading into seven,
Now blending all in one pure ray of heaven.
Glassed on the bosom of the falling shower,
It paints the rainbow, as it paints the flower.”
But haste we to record what Hildah says
Of the electric fluid’s wondrous ways.
“Since Franklin, fearless, called it from the cloud,
We know ’tis gathered when the thunder’s loud,
Two fluids—so 'tis said—must be combined,
Or restless are they, as the changing wind.
A fiery spark betrays the eager leap ;—
Join hands, and you shall know its rapid sweep,
"Tis not more strange, says Clavde, than what we tell
Of the magnetic fluids. Mark me well.
This lifeless needle ever knows the North;
The trusting mariner with it goes forth
O’er unknown seas, all safe as on the shore.
But wherefore should | now detain you more?
Strange sympathies philosophers have found
Among the fluids which this earth surround.”
Eugénie, Susan and Augusta rise :
Attention, listeners, fix your wondering eyes.
Electro-magnetism, that is the word,
With apparatus that will proof afford.
Galvani’s name and Volta’s tirst appear ;
But science has advanced from year to year.
The magnet and the electric fluid serve,
As feeble man directs, nor dare to swerve.
To bear the humblest message swift they fly,
Or strike the alarm-bell, when flames run high.
But not content with telegraphic skill,
Susan shows how physicans at their will]
Send the electric current thro’ our veins.
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94 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
Seeking to calm the worst rheumatic pains,
Our young philosophers would prove their lore,
And, if their auditors, willing before
To be amused, would only now be cured!
No suffering ever more to be endured ;
Oh, what a triumph !—“ Reverend Father, try !
And you, companions !’’—“ How our pulses fly!”
The bravest, not reluctant, seize the wires,
And through the whole commotion no attention tires. *
All have enjoyed the hour throughout the hall ;
Thanks to the Reverend Father! hanks to all!
CHAPTER XIII
1860-1879
ROYAL VISITORS
THE MARQUIS OF LORNE AND PRINCESS LOUISE
Sixty years ago—1837—the Convent annalist recorded an
event which was already the talk of the city and of the
world, It was the accession of the daughter of the Duke of
Kent, the youthful Victoria, to the throne of Great Britain.
She has noted the oath of allegiance taken at the Chateau
St. Louis by the Governor and the officers, civil and military,
the proclamation read by the sheriff and received with
shouts of joy by the troops and the people, while the voice
of the cannon and repeated discharges of artillery, announced
the glad event to be published throuughont this great section
of the young Queen’s vast empire.
To-day—1897— we rejoice to inscribe the celebration of
the 60th anniversary of that coronation, the glorious and
ROYAL VISITORS 95
longest reign in that long line of ancestry, since William the
Conqueror asserted at the point of the sword his right to the
crown of England.
Reminded by the circumstance, we scan the other pages
of the annals for a record of the visits with which the
Ursuline Convent has been honored by the different mem-
bers of the royal family. More than a century ago—it was
in 1787—Prince William Henry, at the age of twenty-two,
visited Canada, and then for the first time the Convent
welcomed a scion of the House of Brunswick, who appeared
“most affable and gracious although a sailor.” Four years
later—1791—prince Edward, Duke of Kent, our present
gracious Queen’s father, was in the country, and having
requested to be allowed to witness the ceremony of a nun’s
profession, our Mothers assigned him, with the curé of Quebec
and the officers of his suite, a place of honor within the
interior chapel.
After Mass, Bishop Briand, who had officiated at the altar,
accompanied the prince and his suite through the cloistered
part of the monastery. At the Superior’s room the company
were treated to refreshments to which they did honor, and
observing that some fancy articles in bark-work were for
sale, the Prince made a purchase for which, an hour later,
he sent payment far exceeding the value.
The other princes of the royal family who have since
visited Canada have not failed to avail themselves of the
prerogatives of their rank, to cross the threshold of that
privileged sanctuary from which ordinary visitors are rigidly
excluded.
In 1860, the Queen’s eldest son, Edward Albert, Prince of
Wales, visited Canada. A brilliant public reception by the
96 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
Governor and all the civil and military authorities of the city
was tendered the heir apparent to the throne of England.
A few days later, a no less loyal demonstration was offered
to the young Prince by the pupils of the Ursulines, in the
name of all the inmates of the monastery. On this occasion
His Royal Highness, attended by the Duke of Newcastle, his
preceptor, by the Governor General Sir Edmund Head, the
Bishops of Quebec, Montreal and Kingston, with other digni-
taries of Church and state, besides gentleman and ladies to
the number of about one hundred and fifty, was received at
the conventual door by the Superior, Mother St. Gabriel, and
the nuns, the introductions being made by the Vicar
General Father Cazeau, the indefatigable cicerone at that
time on all similar occasions in Quebec.
The preparations for this unique reception, the elaborate
decorations of the hall and the throne, the choice of the
music, the address, the presentation of bouquets of flowers,
everything had been attended to with a zeal proportionate
to the occasion.
The Prince, who had remained standing while Miss Loretta
Stuart, the Hon, Judge Stuart’s daughter,delivered the address,
responded by reading in a clear voice an appropriate answer,
receiving the paper from his preceptor.
The visit of the monastery, in its different departments,
detained the company a couple of hours, the Prince mani-
festing as much interest in observing the plain apartments, the
bare floors, the simply furnished cells of the nuns, as one
of us might have felt in visiting the apartments of Windsor
castle.
In 1869, due honors were tendered to Prince Arthur, Duke
of Connaught, who visited the establishment, and ten years
aoe Fe UN
ike
ars
ROYAL VISITERS 97
later in 1879, to Princess Louise whose consort, the Mar-
quis of Lorne, had been appointed Governor General of the
Dominion of Canada,
Of this visit the Morning Chronicle published an account
from which we select a few paragraphs.
“Soon after their arrival at the Citadel yesterday, June 6th,
His Excellency and Her Royal Highness apparently, deter-
mined to maintain the traditional favor with which the
Ursuline Convent has ever been regarded by the representa-
tives of the Crown in Canada, both under French and British
régime, lost no time in intimating their intention of visiting
within its historic walls, Yesterday, then, precisely at three
o’clock, the Vice-royal party drove up to the main eutrance
on Donacona street. His Excellency and Her Royal Highness
were received at the outer gate by His Grace Archbishop
Taschereau, Monsignor Cazean, V. G., Rev. G. L. Lemoine,
Chaplain of the monastery, and others,
“ A cordial greeting took place and the visitors were con-
ducted into the portico, where several distinguished citizens
and ladies were presented. At the conventual door His
Excellency and Her Royal Highness shook hands with
Mother St. Catherine, the Lady Superior, and all were
admitted within the precincts of the cloister, the nuns being
placed on either side of the corridor to join the party on
the way to the reception-hall.
“ Entering the hall on the north end, Her Royal Highness
and His Excellency were led to a raised dais, handsomely
carpeted, and surmounted by a canopy of scarlet velvet,
looped up with massive gold cord and tassels, and provided
with chairs for their use and that of the Archbishop, a grand
march being played during their entry on harps and pianos, On
the southern wall was a beautiful embellished screen, bearing
7
98 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
in the centre the letters “ V. R.” and on either side “ His Royal
Highness the Prince of Wales, 1860” and “ Prince Arthur,
1869.” All around was handsomely decorated in evergreens
looped up with gold lace and tassels, the walls being hung with
drawings and paintings, the work of the pupils during the
past year. All around the hall were arranged on steps rising
in amphitheatre the pupils of the institution; the boarders
and half-boarders in spotless white, the young ladies of the
Normal School, who occupied the highest step next the walls,
were dressed in black ; while ‘the Religieuses, as well as the
visitors, occupied the space on either side of the throne. In
front, in the body of the hall, were placed the musical ins-
truments, surrounded by the choir of youthful musicians, His
Excellency, Her Royal Highness and the company being
seated, the Ode of Welcome was sung, to piano, harp, harmo-
nium and guitar accompaniment, the solos being given by
Mesdemoiselles Maria Maguire and Esther Boisvert, and ’tis
pleasing to have to say that both young ladies acquitted
themselves in a manner highly creditable both to themselves
and the venerable institution of which they are such worthy
éléves,”
ODE CF WELCOME AND ADDRESS
Oh! welcome guests ! Thrice welcome !
Our hearts and Cloister-Home
Exult and bound with gladness ;
The day so long invoked hath come.
Lo! ’tis bringing, round us flinging,
Rosy tints, like the morning’s smile,
All hail! all hail! the merry peal is ringing.
O Princess, all hail !
May thy star never fail !
All hail, princely heir of Argyle!
‘
ROYAL VISITERS 99
Dulcet music stealing
From the fount of feeling
In the heart’s recess,
Tells with what emotion,
Loyal, pure devotion,
We your presence bless.
High the festive banners wave,
Welcome the brave!
While around merrily sings,
Jubilant sings:
Long life, O Rulers dear!
All serene glow the sky
Above your pathway clear.
High, ye festive banners wave!
Long may Heaven our Rulers save :
Him of Ducal House the glory, :
Her of Race renowned in story.
Here Miss Ida Neilson advanced and delivered ‘the follow-
ing address :—
May it please Your Excellency,
Not for discourse could wait our jubilee,
But, gushing, came the voice of melody
For this high welcoming.
My Lord, the tide
Of joy that rolls its bright waves o’er the wide
And varied spread of this great Western Land
To greet your advent, is not at a stand.
All radiant mounts it o’er the castled height
OfChamplain’s olden city. Now, how light
Leaps it over Cloister-walls,
Glancing, like sunshine, thro’ our studious halls ;
Thrilling our young hearts, stirring in our veins
The tuneful flood that flows in measured strains,
Our timid lyre, amid its chords untried,
Would welcome thee, O Princess! Albion’s pride.
Welcome, 0 Ruler! of ancestral name
So high, on Caledonia’s lists of fame.
100
REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
Amid our people pleasant be your stay,
E’en as to us this most auspicious day.
Our people! none more loyal, thro’ the zone
Of the vast Empire, stretching from the throne
Of great Victoria to the utmost sea,
Where floats the Red-Cross flag triumphantly,
And none there are, than ours mid all the throngs
Who've gathered round you, that with truer songs,
From warmer hearts, have sought to testify
Their admiration, for this token high
Of royal favor. Naught too dear is there
For her Canadian liegiancy. A fair
And cherished Flower, our Gracious Sovereign chose
From her own garland bright. This peerless Rose
Entwined a noble stem from Scotia’s heights ;
Both of the Queen and Court were the delights.
Now Canada calls hers these regal Flowers ;
Joyful her people shout: “ They’re ours, they’re ours!”
While over all the land the mellow joy bells ring.
And loud,‘Long live our Gracious Queen ! ” glad voices sing.
“ ILLustRious GuEsts,” the honor here bestowed,
This visit friendly to our loved abode,
Shall be remembered e’er with deepest gratitude.
Oh! might the precious favor often be renewed !
THE ODE CONTINUED,
Sweeter notes now blending
Sing this condescending,
Sing the noble Lorne.
Softer strains acclaim Her,
Lighter accents name Her
Louise! the royal-born.
Princess! Ruler! Be your life
With all heavenly blessings rife.
Lo! we come, jubilant come,
And gather around.
Joy doth abound,
For our Guests on us smile,
Resting the while,
ROYAL VISITERS 101
Here in our own convent-home.
Oh ! welcome, guests! thrice welcome !
Our hearts and convent-home
Exult and bound with gladness ;
The day, the joyous day hath come !
Welcome thrice, beloved Rulers ;
Oh! rest awhile in our dear Convent-home.
The address in French was delivered by Miss. Braun with
equal perfection of style. Miss O’Reilly then advanced and
addressed the distinguished pair in English and French,
showing a perfect mastery of both languages. She referred
to the visits, from time immemorial, of French and English
Governors to the Monastery, and also gave a sketch of the
origin and history of the Normal School branch of the insti-
tution since its foundation twenty two years ago. Then
thirteen little girls dressed in white and wearing wreaths,
each carrying a beautiful bouquet in hey hand, advanced to the
foot of the throne accompanied by two young ladies, Misses
Smith and Letellier, and a dialogue began, forming an acrostic
on the names of “Lorne” and “ Louise”, in which the
various flowers were described :
THE FOLLOWING WERE THE ACROSTICS,
™ aurier toujours brillant, symbole de victoire,
© livier du Seigneur, doux embléme de paix ;
J omarin précieux, loyale est ta mémoire ;
oyer puissant, splendide, ah! présage sa gloire!
fs rable aimé, grandis, et rappelle a jamais
Son nom et ses bienfaits !
™ ilas si beau, si frais, grace de,nos printenips ;
© ranger, dont l’ardme embaume la Puissance ;
@ Imaire glorieuse, ah! régne ici longtemps!
m ris, céleste Iris, annonce l’espérance ;
@ tellaire, 4 la vertu tu donnes préséance ;
ij glantier des beaux-arts, tes attraits sont charmants!
102 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
His Excellency addressed the young ladies as follows :
“T had to-day an opportunity of seeing two systems of
defence, two of the bulwarks of this country ; because this
morning I rode all over the Levis fortifications upon the
other side of the river, and have also examined all the
defences of the Citadel, together with the officers of the staff
of the Militia here ; and this afternoon I have come here and
I have found another series of defences which are for home
defence, and which I think are quite as strong and much
more likely to be useful, or, at all events, to be put to use,
than those fortifications, either over your heads at the Citadel,
or on the other side of the river, because I hope we shall
never have any enemy advancing upon us from the South
in our time. But here you have been taught to contend
against folly and ignorance—enemies that are to be found
everywhere,—and I must say that I have come to the
conclusion that the home lines are the strongest, for in the
Reverend Sisters of the Ursuline Convent there are engineers
who can be trusted to hold any lines. The Princess and I
thank you very much for all the trouble you have taken in
the recitations and dialogues you have given, She has been
much touched and pleased that the authorities of this Convent
have remembered in such a pleasing manner the visits
which her brothers, the Prince of Wales and Prince Arthur
paid in former years.
« They havea very pleasant recollection of the visits which
they paid here, and I do not much wonder. My own exper-
ience has been such that I am not surprised that each
Governor General has been always anxious to come here,
and has always knocked at the door and has never been
refused admittance. (Laughter), And when he does enter,
what dves he see? He sees a vast, well organized establish-
ROYAL VISITERS 103
ment where harmony and order seem everywhere to prevail,
and where everything seems to be conducted with that quiet
and simplicity without which good work cannot be done.
We cannot tell what result all this love and labour bestowed
upon you will bring, but I believe you will do your best,
young ladies here, to build up a God-fearing and loyal
nation in Canada.” (Applause),
The National Anthem was then sung and the distinguished
guests with their suite were invited by Mother St. Catherine
the Superior, to visit the building,
The Morning Chronicle, after following the visitors from
the boarders, department and noticing the magnificent view
afforded of the Laurentides and the surrounding country, the
class-rooms, bright and airy, and the other more antique parts
of the monastery, concludes by seeing them through the outer
or public chapel, rich in its valuable paintings, its monument
to the illustrious Montcalm. Then, “ turning once more
toward the world, the viceregal party were again met by
the pupils who gave them a parting salute by singing “ God
Save the Queen.” His Excellency and Her Royal Highness
and party took their departure, after taking leave of the Rev.
Mother Superior and the other Religiewses, and expressing the
satisfaction they felt in their visit. The vast numbers who
had assemb!ed to witness their arrival and had patiently
awaited their exit for over an hour and a half, gave them
three hearty cheers as their carriage drove off.”
104 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
CHAPTER XIV
MOTHER ST, MARY née ADELE CIMON
25TH SUPERIOR, 1874
To many of our readers Mother St, Mary requires no intro-
duction; she has so recently disappeared from among us !
Born in 1830, of the worthy family that still resides in the
picturesque village of Malbaie, Adéle Cimon, at the age of
ten, was preparing for her First Communion among our pupils,
under the careful spiritual direction of our Chaplain, Rev.
Thomas Maguire.
That important act accomplished, the following years
witnessed the rapid development of her rare talents, no less
than her advancement in piety and in all the virtues that
best adorn the youthful character. At sixteen she already
aspired to the dignity of Spouse of Christ, by the choice of
the hidden life of a religious; and neither the rosy dreams of
her youthful imagination nor the powerful attractions of her
pleasant home were sufficient to move her steadfast will to
postpone the sacrifice. On the Feast of the Annunciation,
1848, the young candidate was admitted to the novitiate ; in
July she was ¢lothed with the habit of the Order and obtained
the beloved name of our Heavenly Queen, to be known
henceforward as Sister St. Mary.
Her success as a teacher dated from her first appearance
in that capacity in the class-room. The resolute dignity of
her bearing, her perfect self-command, the evident pleasure
with which she sought their improvement, impressed her
pupils with a due regard for her authority and a high esteem
* for her qualifications,
MOTHER 8ST. MARY 105
From year to year our good Sister’s advancement in the
various branches of learning as well as in the virtues of the
religious state, rendered her services ever more available and
precious to her community. Her facile pen was ready for
every occasion, were the subjects to be treated serious or gay,
in prose or in verse, while her willingness to be of service
seemed to render every thing easy to accomplish, Charged
with the teaching of French Literature, and General History
as well as Religious Instruction, her aim was to impress upon
the youthful mind the lessons of wisdom and piety, rather
than to excite excessive admiration for the exploits of war
or the productions of genius.
During the several years that Mother St. Mary was
directress of the senior division of boarders, her influence in
forming their character laid the foundation of solid happiness
for many a family throughout the Dominion of Canada and
beyond. Her part in the publication of the History of the
Monastery has already been noticed, Yet neither for these
labors nor for the numerous services she rendered in the
Institute, is her community under so many obligations as
for the indefatigable zeal with which she devoted her
energies to forward the Cause of the Beatification of our
Venerable Mother. The cogency of argument in her long
defence of the heroic virtues of the servant of God, did not
escape remark before the learned m&mbers of the Commission.
Great admiration for the “Theresa of Canada,” and unbounded
contidence in her intercession were among the earliest
impressions of her infancy; the same assurance of her pro-
tection continued to nourish her piety to the latest hour of
her life.
The votes of the Community in 1872 called Mother St.
Mary to the administration as Superior,
——————
106 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
It was again “the right person at the right time.” Young
and in perfect health, full of energy, the long deferred project
of extensive repairs and building was not an enterprise to
alarm her.
Plans were made out, and soon the site of a new-building
of large dimensions was marked off from the north east angle
of the block formed by the old buildings; a pendant to the
wing added to the west angle in 1858. This new extension
rears its massive walls to a height of fouv stories from the
basement, affording a spacious novitiate, dormitories and
other apartments chiefly occupied by the novices.
When this undertaking had been accomplished, the recon-
truction of the old buildings along Parlor Street required the
demolishing of walls more than 200 years old, in order to
obtain broader foundations.
It was an animated and busy scene all summer, while the
masons were at work, followed by the necessary staff of
carpenters, plumbers and painters till in September the new
building was in readiness for its various occupants, To the
Normal School department were assigned several well-
lighted apartments, dormitories. The space remaining
afforded class-rooms, a new suite of parlors, and more suitable
accommodations for the Chaplain’s lodgings.
Other desirable repairs were undertaken in various
parts of the old buildings, till the Monastery stood not only
much enlarged, but in a great measure renovated,
Mother St. Mary was next appointed to the office of
Mistress General of the boarilers, and subsequently to that
of Assistant Superior, in which employ she was destined to
close, all too soon, her meritorious and useful career,
Neither the multiplicity of affairs with which our good
Mother was often charged, nor the difficulties which some-
MOTHER ST. MARY 107
times threatened to retard their accomplishment, sufficed to
depress her spirit or ruffle her serenity.
Ever accessible, and considerate for others, she bore sweetly
the burden of authority, as if in preparation for the burden
of the cross which awaited her at the meridian of her days.
Healthy in appearance, and first at every observance imposed
by the rule, no one knew that an insidious sickness was
poisoning the life-spring of her existence. As in most cases
of the kind, the cancerous nature of her malady was only
discovered when already beyond the reach of remedy. But it
could be borne for the love of Jesus and be rendered highly
meritorious by resignation and patience. Thus did our
beloved Mother sanctify the long hours of those three long
years of gradual decay, devoting whatever remained of her
strength and life to prayer and such labors as could benefit
her community.
The young sisters, to whose studies she lent the light of
her long experience, have not forgotten the lessons so cheer-
fully imparted during the decline of that devoted teacher.
Nor has the Monastery ceased to admire the persistent
energy which enabled the trembling hand of an invalid
to aid in correcting the second edition of the first volume of
the History of the Ursulines a legacy, as it were, of her
love for the Venerable Mother and her community.
The day of her release dawned on the 10th of October,
1886, before she had completed her fifty-sixth year.
May her dear soul rest forever in the bosom of Him she
so ardently loved, and so generously served !
108 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
CHAPTER XV
SUPERIORS FROM 1875 To 1889
MOTHER ST. GEORGE AND MOTHER ST. CATHERINE
At the close of this half century, from 1839 to 1889, two
Superiors, Mother St. George Van Felson, and Mother St.
Catherine Tims, were alternately charged with the govern-
ment of the community, as had been Mother St. Gabriel and
Mother St. Andrew at its commencement.
Companions in their later school-days, sister-novices and
colleagues in the offices of superior and depositary, their
companionship hardly ceased with life, their death occurring
at the same date, the 16th of August, the one in 1892, the
other in 1894, Their graves in the lowly garden cemetery,
which first received dear Mother Saint Catherine’s loved
remains, are only separated by a few feet of earth.
Mother St. George, known in the world as Miss Georgina
Van Felson, was the youngest daughter of the late Hon.
Judge Van Felson, whose handsome residence was on St.
Louis Street, bordering on the convent-grounds. Georgina,
as well as her three older sisters, was a pupil in our half-
boarders’ department from her early childhood, In the
family circle, that little one, with bright expressive eyes and
round rosy face, was seldom called by her baptismal name.
Her womanly ways, her frequent offers of service and pro-
tection had won for her the pet name of la mere.
At school, her proficiency in her studies was remarkable,
while in drawing and painting she excelled. At home her
quiet disposition was remarked as very peculiar; the amuse-
ments usually so enticing to young people in society had no
attractions for our future Ursuline. While her sisters were
SUPERIORS FROM 1875 To 1889 109
receiving company, and gay music filled the halls of the
paternal mansion, Georgina, at the age of seventeen, would
have been found in some distant apartment, or seated on the
solitary steps of the winding stairway, with her netting or
embroidery in hand, or perchance, her beads and prayer-
book. Thus it could not have been a surprise to the family
circle, when the young girl solicited the permission of her
parents to offer herself as a cindidate for the life of an
Ursuline in the neighboring monastery.
Meanwhile, as her father’s secretary this favorite daughter
had often been employed in copying the letters written in
his office, or in writing under his dictation, thus forming
herself to the style of business and the elegant permanship
of which later she availed herself so advantageously as
circumstances required,
From the day of her profession in 1846, to that of her
return to the novitiate as mistress of novices, in 1866,
Mother St. George was afforded ample opportunity for the
exercise of the fourth vow of an Ursuline, her attainments
‘rendering her competent to take charge of any class that
might be confided to her, while her happy talent for imparting
instruction never failed to interest her pupils and captivate
their attention.
We, who have labored by her side, living under the same
roof from the time of her entering the convent to the day of
her departure for a better home, can bear witness to her
solid piety, her devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, aud her
ardor for Holy Communion, as well as to her solicitude in
acquiring the virtues of a true religious. Exact in the
observance of the rules of the monastery, she was not less
vigilant as Superior, to prevent the decay of the primitive
spirit and to promote the welfare of all who were confided
to her care, Sincerely devoted to her community and
110 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
economical of her time, her skilful fingers were ever busily
occupied, and often had her work- basket to be replenished
with the linen fabric which she fashioned so deftly and so
rapidly. When busy at her easel, often would the younger
sisters gather around to admire the progress of her painting,
or they would watch her palette of water colors at the social
hour, when without interruption to the flow of conversation,
wreaths of flowers would blossom from her magic pencil, or
sacred emblems unfold upon the church vestments which it
was her delight to ornament,
Even when charged with the government of the com-
munity, or occupied with the cares of providing for the house
us depositary, the young artists were ever free to present their
work to her esthetic taste for approbation or remark, On
such occasions it was not rare that a finishing stroke, a
relieving shade, or a fleecy cloud flouting over the waiting
landscape, would elucidate at once and enforce the suggested
improvement,
At the close of her second triennial term of superiority in
1890, her enfeebled health had not permitted the community
to charge her with any office, but they were happy to see
that her long experience would still be made available among
the councillors. In illness as in health, her habits of industry
prevailed over her need of repose, and the work-basket as
well as the escritoire followed her to the infirmary. She
could still write with steady hand, and her last neat stitches
on the nuns’ linens might serve as a model of sewing as well
as an example of the useful employment of every moment of
time.
The gradual decline, destined to end in death, was not
attended by any violent pain or suffering, but as the mid-
summer passed, it became evident that the end was drawing
near.
SUPERIORS FROM 1875 to 1889 111
The immediate preparations were made in peace; the
attenuated thread of life broke without a struggle, setting
free the captive soul which only longed to be at rest
henceforth, in that eternity where God is all n all.
It was the feast of the Assumption, August 16th, 1894;
Mother St. George had attained the seventieth year of her
age.
Around the lifeless form the sisterhood gathered in
mourning, yet while they gazed on that placid countenance,
transformed and beautified by the Angel of Death, they
found themselves comforted by the assurance of the eternal
happiness of their departed Mother.
MOTHER ST, CATHERINE, née ELIZA TIMS
The highly respectable family to which our future Ursu-
line belonged was originally from Oldcastle, county of
Meath (Ireland). In 1834, they came to Canada and settled
in Quebec. Eliza, the third daughter, was but seven years
old when she beheld for the last time the green fields of
Erin; yet even at that tender age pictures of her beloved
home and its surroundings, were indelibly engraven on her
young imagination, and in after years were ever recalled
with pleasing emotions.
Entering the convent as half-boarder at sixteen, she was
already prepared to join an advanced class and to relish the
studies in the higher branches of education. Generous and
warm hearted, she had also the quickness of repartee as well
as of temper, which seem to be the natural inheritance
of the children of the Emerald Isle. Let us relate how the
latter served, at a critical moment, to turn the tide of her
life, and direct her to the peaceful harbor of the religious
state.
13. REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
A rather severe reproof for absence from school had pro-
voked the young girl to the rash decision to veturn no more
to the convent. One of her teachers hearing this, and
powerless to persuade her to change her mind, besouglt her
to go to the chapel and pray a few moments, adding: “ Ask
Our Blessed Lord to guide you. Who knows what grace He
may have in store for you.” Many years later, that teacher
learned how fruitful had been the word of caution and the
silent visit to the Blessed Sacrament. There for the first
time had arisen before the mind of the young girl, the great
problem of life: “What does God demand of me? Has He
destined me to serve Him in the world or in the religious
state ?”
The secret impulsions of grace were not left unheeded; at
the age of eighteen, Miss Eliza Tims had taken her place
among the novices, under the gentle guidance of Mother Ste.
Marie de la Ferriére, and on the 26th of November, 1844
she was clothed in the habit of the Order, under the name
of Sister St. Catherine.
But her vocation was to be tested by a severe trial, In
the spring of 1846, as the time of her profession drew near,
her health became so impaired that the community, seriously
alarmed, decided to suspend the exercises of the novitiate
for the beloved novice, allowing her to return to her family,
with the assurance of resuming them as soon as_ her
recovered strength would permit.
No pains were spared by the dear relatives to render that
home more than ever pleasant and attractive, and gladly
would they have prolonged the reunion thus effected; but
Eliza’s heart was in her convent-home ; and happy was that
24th of June, 1846, when she was enabled to rejoin her
beloved companious in the novitiate. Her preparations for
SUPERIORS FROM 1875 To 1889 113
holy profession were prolonged till the 24th of June, 1847,
a whole year, according to our constitutions.
Few have been more affectionately and universally beloved
than Mother St. Catherine; in the more immediate circle
of the sisterhood where her amiable qualities were best
known, there also were they best appreciated. The ready
wit and acumen of the Irish character, joined to a solid
judgment and rare abilities, rendered her society as delightful
‘as her services were beneficial. At the hour of recreation
her presence, like a cheering ray of sunshine, was ever
welcome. With her talent for narration the most ordinary
occurrence would interest the hearer as much asa more
important event, and a trifling anecdote, depicted with the
lights and shades of her vivid imagination, never failed to
entertain agreeably.
Recalling to mind these by-gone hours, we behold again
that cheerful countenance, we hear the gleeful laugh that
called for answering mirth, the pleasant voice that soothed
while it exhilarated; we feel the influence of that graceful
charity, that religious spirit, which stamped her features and
regulated all her demeanor as of one whom all might seek to
resemble,
Many are the former pupils, now perhaps mothers of
families or fervent religious in convents, who remember
with love and gratitude dear Mother St. Catherine, their
teacher or their directress. Another circle of acquaintances
and friends was formed while she was engaged in the office
of depositary, or that of superior, and these have not forgotten
the gentle nun, as intelligent of business as she was edifying
in her conversation, whom to know was to esteem and
admire.
114 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
Called to govern the community during two consecutive
terms, from 1878 to 1884, the important enterprise of the
foundation of the Convents of Roberval on Lake St, John and
of Stanstead fell to her share. The responsibiliiy of the
undertaking was fully realized, but she had recourse to
prayer, and placing all her confidence in Ged, she felt His
hand guiding her and conducting all securely.
A careful selection of the subjects who were destined to
the foundation of Roberval, and a prudent attention to provide
for its temporal security, have thus far ensured its prosperity
and won for it the confidence of all ranks of society.
Another foundation having been demanded by the Bishop
of Sherbrooke, Right Rev, A. Racine, the preliminaries had
been settled and every thing provided for, except the nomin-
ation of the foundresses, before the expiration of Mother St.
Catherine’s second term of office (1884).
These two branch-houses were destined to enjoy the
beneficial influence of our good Mother’s watchful care, her
counsel and her prayers, even after she had ceased to fill the
office of superior, During the following six years, as depositary,
she had frequent occasions of rendering them service. To
crown all her benefits, in 1890, she consented to her appoint-
ment as superior of the little community of Stanstead, thus
bequeathing herself to her dear missionary daughters, and
giving them the most undeniable proof of her affection and
devotedness.
In the space of a few months, however, it became evident
that the sacrifice she had made in retiring from the mother-
house had filled the measure of her merits and obli-
gations, Her declining health required her immediate return
to her community, where the most tender and assiduous care
surrounded her to the close of her long and painful illness,
CONVENTS AT ROBERVAL AND STANSTRAD 115
Hey well earned crown acquired thus its brightest gems by
the long and patient endurance of physical suffering,
If at all times the amiability, the ever ready flashes of
Irish wit, the tender piety, the truly religious spirit of our
beloved Mother St. Catherine had rendered her company
edifying and delightful, the same lovely qualities exhibited.
in the sick chamber excited reverence and admiration.
On the 16th of August, 1892, the summons came for a
speedy departure, speedy and unexpected at that precise mo-
ment, yet long foreseen and abundantly provided for by the
reception of the sacraments and frequent recourse to the
prayers for the dying.
Is it not a merciful dispensation when, all being ready,
the parting scene is abridged ?
“ May her dear soul rest in peace !—and it surely does ”—
was the silent ejaculation of each tearful mourner as we laid
her to rest, August 16th, the first to break the green sward
in our newly enclosed cemetery where
“ When we think of all her winning ways
We almost wish there had been less to praise.”
CHAPTER XVI
1882 - 1884
CONVENTS AT ROBERVAL AND STANSTEAD
An Ursuline Convent, as described by our Rules and Con-.°
stitutions, is an establishment complete in itself. It has
started, perhaps, from a small beginning; but when fully
equipped it is an independent institution, admirable in its.
116 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
organization, truly efficient and prepared for its twofold object :
the sanctification of each individual member by the exercises
of the religious life, and the promotion of the welfare of
society by the education of young girls according to the prin-
ciples of true Christianity,
In a cloistered convent each member is assured of a
permanent home with the Sisters of her choice ; a condition
which to her secms essential to her content and happiness ;
while there are congregations otherwise organized which
seem more attractive to souls of a different cast. Thus
is accomplished that beautiful “unity and variety”, which
is characteristic of the work of the Holy Ghost in the Catholic
Church.
Founding an Ursuline Convent is not simply opening a
school, or providing an academy where young girls may
obtain a medal or a diploma, There must be the prospect
of a house, where souls consecrated to God can carry out
the provisions of their rule, and the observances of religious
life, while devoting themselves to the arduous work which
distinguishes their Order,
For these reasons, and from ever awaiting the manifestation
of the will of God, the foundations from the Ursuline Convent
of Quebec have been few. The first, that of Three Rivers,
has celebrated the 200th anniversary of its existence this
year, 1897, Founded by Monseigneur de St. Valier, and
governed during thirty years by Superiors from the mother-
house, it has its own edifying and interesting history,
published within a few years past. It has also its recent
“foundations in the State of Maine.
Many times and from various quarters the Ursulines of
Quebec had been solicited to detach a branch from the
vigorous old tree planted here two hundred and fifty years
.ago by the Ven. Mother Mary of the Incarnation.
if
-
CONVENTS AT ROBERVAL AND STANSTEAD 117
Our Mothers and their ecclesiastical Superiors had not
found any one of the proposed foundations really opportune,
or uniting all the requisite conditions to ensure its stability
and success, until a recent date, when circumstances peculiar
and providential seemed to manifest clearly the will of God,
At the same time it was a patriotic enterprise. The fertile
region around Lake St, John and some other parts of the
Province being rapidly colonized, the evil of emigration, had
diminished which at one time threatened to depopulate the
banks of the St. Lawrence. Along the Saguenay, and espe-
cially along the fertile shores of that lake which has given its
name to the whole region around it, Catholics had settled,
and the population was on the increase, but destitute of
institutions for religious education, beyond the common
parish schools, There also was the Indian Reservation, and
possibly an opportunity to benefit these ever wayward
children of the forest. Was it not a repetition of the condi-
tions which had brought the first Ursulinesto New France
in 1639 ?
Concurring with these inducements were other favorable
circumstances: a numerous and well appointed novitiate,
the prosperous state of our convent finances, the approval
of ecclesiastical authorities, withheld on many other occa-
sions, and, the unanimous consent of the community, wherein
the ardor of enthusiasm was not wanting to fan the flame
and draw down the blessing of God, without which no good
work can properly be commenced or be continued.
The project of a railroad which would shorten the distance
between Quebec and Lake St. John had long been agitated
and would soon become a reality.
The new bishop of Chicoutimi, Rt. Rev. Dominique Racine,
on the 18th of February, 1881, with the approbation of His
Grace the Archbishop of Quebec, proffered a formal demand
118 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
for the foundation of an Ursuline convent. The project met
the approval of the community; a convent should be founded,
This required a journey to the Lake, to select the site of the
future convent, and to decide upon the plan of its construc-
tion, That journey was then far from being the pleasant trip
which the railroad has made it, Tne departure was fixed for
the 24th of May, wher Mother St, Catherine Tims, Supe-
rior, Mother St. George Vanfelson, Depositary, and Mother
St. Mary Cimon, Mistress-general, issued from the cloister,
accompanied by Mrs, E, Gagnon, a sister of Mother St, Mary.
The early morning hour did not prevent the party from being
the object of an amicable demonstration, wherein former
pupils, friends and relatives vied with each other in mani-
festing their affection and their delight at this opportunity
of presenting their kindest greetings.
We need not follow the travellers to the Lower Town
where they met with an ovation which threatened to prevent
them from reaching the steamboat in time to embark, nor
ask what were their impressions as they sailed down the
St. Lawrence, whose dark waters and pleasant borders they
had seen before, but had never expected to see again, They
noticed more especially the points which they had formerly
visited, Si. Paul’s Bay, the Eboulements, so descriptive of
its name, Malbaie, the native parish of one of the travel-
lers, where loveliness and grandeur unite their attractions,
Passing from the broad expanse of the St. Lawrence to the
black waters of the Saguenay, and remembering that in the
olden times our first Mothers halted here at Tadoussac, they
continue their voyage between stern and threatening cliffs
till the steamboat whistle warns them that the wharf is
near. Chicoutimi, the pride of the Saguenay river, is reached
in time to hear mass, in the Bishop’s church, on Ascension
CONVENTS AT ROBERVAL AND STANSTBAD 119
day. The rest of the journey, some ninety miles, must
be performed by land in primitive vehicles, suited to
a rough road through a wild and hilly country, Our travel-
lers enjoyed the aspect of the growing parishes, St.
Dominique, Hébertville, St. Jerome, Pointe aux Trembles, and
finally reached their destination, Here arches and banners
saluted their arrival with the inscriptions; “ A thousand
times welcome.” “Blessed are ye who come in the name of
the Lord”,
In a few days the choice had been made of a property at
Roberval and the purchase concluded, The return to Chicou-
timi coinciding with the Feast of Pentecost, the nuns had
the advantage of assisting again at the Pontifical mass, cele-
brated by Bishop Racine, who greatly rejoiced at seeing this
fair commencement of the realization of his plans.
The “ welcome home "at the Old Monastery was naturally
most joyous,
Meanwhile, the dwelling-house purchased with the pro-
perty was fitted up to serve as a temporary convent. Four
of the Sisters named for the foundation repaired to Roberval
to prepare for the ceremony of the installation, which was to
take place in August.
Already the Superior of the new community had been
named ; it was Mother St. Raphaél, née Gagné: Mother St.
Henry Dion was named assistant, Mother St. Francois de
Paule Gosselin, depositary. The other foundresses were
Sister Mary of the Nativity Létourneau, Sister St. Alexander
Poitras, with two lay sisters, St. Joachim and St. Vincent.
All were on the spot in readiness for their future labors,
when on the 1st of August, 1882, in presence of Mother St,
Catherine and Mother St. Joseph, the ceremony of the ins-
tallation took place. The sky, as it should be on such an
occasion, was unflecked by a cloud; the lake spread out like
120 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
a mirror was unruffled, save where the picturesque Indian
canoe rippled its glassy surface. All around the Convent
and along the road leading toit, a fresh young grove of fir-
trees had risen as if by magic, with banner-crested arches
at various distances and mottoes telling of joy and good
wishes,
At an early hour the Bishop of Chicoutimi who to-day
witnessed the fulfilment of his ardent wishes, sang high
Mass in the village-church surounded by a numerous clergy,
the nuns being present. The good pastor, Rev. Jos. Lizotte,
to whose zeal the Convent would ever be so much indebted,
read the pastoral letter approving the foundation. A sermon
worthy of the occasion was delivered by Very Rev. B. Leclere,
V. G., pastor of Hébertville. After Mass, the blessing of a
bell, the generous donation of a pious lady, Mrs. Wm.
Murray, of Toronto, one of the benefactresses of the Convent,
gave occasion for many generous hands, and among them
some of the Indian race, to offer their gifts. Dinner, prepared
by the ladies of Roberval, is served by them to the clergy at
the Convent,
The final ceremony commenced at 3 o’clock P. M. Solemn
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the village-church
after which, in procession, the people, the nuns and the clergy
proceed to the convent. When the new cloister is blessed,
the prelate addresses a few touching words to the nuns who
stand near him surrounded by the crowd, and invites them
to take possession of their chosen habitation, Kneeling for
his blessing, the Mother Superior receives the key from his
hand, and joyfully followed by all the Sisters, disappears
within the sacred precincts, which are henceforth a bazrier
between them and the outside world. From the adjoining
chapel, now filled by the clergy, the bishop entones the hymn.
x
CONVENTS AT ROBERVAL AND STANSTEAD 121
of thanksgiving, the 7’e Dewm, which is responded to with
joyful hearts by the little band who feel strengthened for the
labors that await them,
Meanwhile the bell already suspended aloft in the new
belfry awakens the echoes along the lake shore with its first
joyous vibrations.
Thus was the young colony safely started, comfortably
sheltered, its wants provided for, and its future success
prepared, If at a later period a terrible and unforeseen
disaster ig sent them by divine Providence, it will be met
with firmness and resignation. The difficulties and privations
which had been wanting in the beginning, will now serve to
manifest the solidity of the religious formation, and assure
the durability of a work, which to be lasting, must be founded
upon the cross.
But let us not anticipate upon a distressing page of his-
tory. Here we narrate the events of the foundation, not
those of January 6th, 1897, which have rendered a restora-
tion necessary.
In gratitude to divine Providence, however, let it be
recorded that the convent at Roberval has fully answered
the expectations of all who contributed to its foundation. Its
benefit to that section of Canada can hardly be over-estim-
ated. From the beginning, its aim has been the welfare of
the rising generation by « solid religious instruction, by form-
ing them to habits of industry, thrift and economy, to use-
fcIness and the social virtues which are the true basis of
domestic happiness. In this view, the practical arts of an
industrial school formed a part of their programme of teaching
from the first opening of their classes.
The proximity of the Lake, which on the north forms the
boundary of their cloister-grounds, affords the pupils an
occasional sail upon its pellucid waters, if not for the rarer
122 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
sport of a venturesome angling for the Ouananiche. In the
conveut grounds already young plantations of forest trees
give promise of goodly shade, and fruit-trees offer the succu-
lent plum, cherry and apple, while tiny wild-flowers still
assert their right to blossom by the side of their more bril-
liantly clad cultivated flowers in the convent garden.
The industrial school would require a long description. It
is the pride of our legislators who have willingly endowed it
and who have not been sparing in their praise of its manage-
ment. Here the resident pupils of the convent-school,
or others who desire to follow this practical course only,
are initiated into the secrets of the kitchen, the bake-
house, the laundry and dairy ; here they may learn to spin
and weave, to fabricate their own clothing or that of their
household, to knit or sew in all the varieties which taste and
leisure, as well as utility and economy, may suggest.
The growing prosperity of the community will be suffi-
ciently indicated by the mention of a new stone edifice of
large dimensions added to their temporary convent in 1885 ;
of successive additions to their number by the reception
of novices, till they were sufficiently numerous for all the
offices and even for a separate novitiate (1889). The same
year a regular Bill of Incorporation, obtained from the
legislature, has authorized them to govern their temporal
affairs as an independent institution.
URSULINE CONVENT OF THE SACRED HEART, STANSTEAD
The southern borders of Canada, where they meet the
Green Mountain State and New Hampshire, received their
first settlements in the trying times of the American Revo-
lution, Then, had each one to choose between the Old Flag
of England, or the Stars and Stripes just unfurled in the
CONVENTS AT ROBERVAL AND STANSTEAD 123
colonies, and not a few loyalists passed the “ Lines” and
“hewed out for themselves new homes in the Canadian
wilderness,”
All along the frontier, as Dr, Grant says, “ the early
Massachusetts pioneer transplanted to Canadian soil the old
farm-life of New England origin nowhere more evident than
at Stanstead.”
The first opening in the magnificent forest which in 1796
still covered the plain where now reposes the neat village of
Stanstead, was made by the sturdy axe of one of these New
England farmers, in search of a new home for himself, his
wife and two children,
The rustic dwelling of Johnson Taplin was ere long replaced
by a more comfortable mansion, and surrounded by the clus-
tering houses of many neighbors of the same New England
origin.
To-day that elevated site in the centre of the plateau a
mile square which constitutes Stanstead Plain, is occupied
*by a handsome Catholic church, dedicated to the Sacred Heart.
Lovely villas, comfortable residences, varying in style and
dimensions with the taste or means of the owners, succeed
each other behind a canopy of spreading maple trees, along
the principal street of this Pearl of the Eastern Townships.
The population, less than formerly at the present date, is
stated to be 580 souls, among whom and in the environs of
the village are fifteen Catholic families.
In 1874 this section of the Province of Quebee, including
the counties of Sherbrooke, Compton, Richmond, and Stan-
stead, was formed into a new diocese, the see being fixed at
Sherbrooke. The first Bishop, Rt. Rev. Antoine Racine,
soon had his seminary, under the patronage of St, Charles
Borromeo, an academy for boys, and some other religious
institutions. In 1883 the Bishop of Chicoutimi, Rt Rev.
124 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
Dominique Racine had obtained the promise of an Ursuline
convent for his diocese. Why should not Bishop Antoine
Racine be equally successful ?
The locality selected for the future foundation in the diocese
of Sherbrooke, was Stanstead. There, at a distance from the
convents already established, were numerous families, mostly
Catholics of French origin, destitute of schools in which
their children could obtain the needful instruction in the
tenets and practices of their religion.
The situation of Stanstead, besides, promised a wide field
of usefulness. By railway communication, pupils might reach
the convent from the neighboring towns, as well as from the
American cities which annually send many young girls to
study in Canada. In the flourishing village of the Plains
there were doubtless many thoughtful matrons who would
rejoice to confide their daughters to the nuns, whose influence
in forming the character of their youthful charge as well as
in refining their minds and manners is well known. Beyond
the frontier, in the pretty hamlets and villages along the Con-
necticut, and all through Vermont and New Hampshire, there
are bevies of young girls belonging to Catholic parents, who,
without coming as far north as Quebec, would be happy to
find an Ursuline convent ready to initiate them to the
same course as is pursued in the mother-house.
With these considerations in view it was decided that
Bishop Antoine Racine’s request should be granted. A suit-
able tract of land, at a convenient distance from the village
proper, was secured, and the handsome building destined to
serve as a convent erected under the kind and able inspec-
tion of good Father Michael McAuley, who contributed
generously of his own funds towards defraying the expense
of the foundation.
CONVENTS AT ROBERVAL AND STANSTEAD 125
The journeys required on such an occasion were more
pleasing than those that had been undertaken in the direction
of Lake St. John, At one time the route chosen enabled
Mother St. Catherine and Mother St. George to pass a day
in the Ursuline Convent of Three Rivers, where it would be
difficult to say which were the happier, the visitors or the
visited.
The Sisters named for the foundation were as follows :
Mother Dion of Ste. Eulalie, Superior ;
tf McDonald of the Sacred Heart, Assistant ;
. Mary Létourneau of the Conception, Depositary.
The other members of the community were: Sisters Roy,
Marie des Anges; Murray, Mary of the Purification ; Coupal
of Ste. Euphémie, Lindsay of St. Agatha, and two lay-
Sisters, Ste. Luce and St. Roch.
The elections in August (1884) having appointed Mother St.
George Superior, and Mother St. Catherine Depositary, the
latter was commissioned to proceed to Stanstead with a part
of the little colony, in order to complete the preparations for
opening the new convent on the 18th of August.
On the eve, an illumination transformed the pretty village
into a fairy land, the entire population taking part in the
rejoicings.
On the following morning, it being the solemnity of the
Feast of the Assumption, High Mass was celebrated in the
Parish church, by the most Reverend T. Hamel, V. G. rector
of Laval University. An appropriate sermon was deliv-
ered by Very Reverend A, E. Dufresne, V. G., of Sherbrooke,
in presence of Right Reverend L. Z. Moreau, Bishop of St.
Hyacinth, and of some twelve or fifteen clergymen from the
colleges and parishes in the vicinity as well of as the nuns,
After mass an imposing procession was seen winding its way
126 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
from the parish church to the new convent, while the chant
of the Magnificat and the Ave Maris Stella, resounding
there for the first time perchance, awoke the echoes around
with Mary’s song and Mary’s praise. The blessing of the
convent, and the solemn blessing of the people from the
convent-balcony with the uplifted ostensory by the Bishop
of St. Hyacinth, closed the morning ceremony of the instal-
lation.
Dinner, prepared and gracefully served by the ladies of
Stanstead, refreshed the goodly company before they dis-
persed, leaving the nuns grateful to God for this auspicious
beginning, and grateful also to all who had shown so much
cordiality and good will on this occasion.
At six o’clock P, M. the keys of the conventual door are
in the hands of Mother Superior; the little family are now
mistresses of the situation, freed from the importunities and
useless interruptions of idle visits, while ready to welcome
all who on business or on other useful errands would ring
the convent door-bell.
Already there was sufficient work before them in organ-
izing a comfortable abode for themselves and their expected
pupils, setting school-room furniture in place, preparing the
sleeping apartments, kitchen, refectory and chapel, buying
provisions, and returning thanks for the kind attention of
their neighbors, who for many days kept them supplied with
choice viands ready for the table without further application
of the culinary art.
The school opened on the first of September with a fair
number of pupils: it has continued these fifteen years to
enjoy the confidence of the public, drawing away pupils, at
times, from the Stanstead female college, its rival, and even
sowe few from the mother-house in Quebec.
CONVENTS AT ROBERVAL AND STANSTEAD 127
The convent of the Sacred Heart at Stanstead, after being
under the direction of its first Superior six years has since
been governed by Mother Mary of the Conception, with
Mother St. Aloysius as her Assistant, and Mother Ste
Eulalie as Depositary. It has increased its dimensions by a
second building, while its grounds planted during the first
years with trees for fruit and shade are improving yearly in
loveliness as well as in usefulness. Other members have
been added to their original number from the mother-house,
and novices formed by themselves to the religious life have
made profession, a
There would be much to say of the natural features of this
region, where the Green Hills of Vermont and the more dis-
tant White Mountains of New Hampshire skirt the horizon
in one direction, while level plains intersected by winding
streams, and rounded hills crowned with forest trees, vary
the scenery in another; of the salubrity of the climate, the
bracing air, ever in motion over these heights of land which
separate the streams destined to bear their tribute to the
distant St. Lawrence, from those that form the origin of the
lovely Connecticut, flowing south to the Atlantic Ocean.
But let us remark the nearer environs of the new convent,
and we shall admire the modest stateliness of this home of
the Ursulines, embosomed in verdure and surmounted by its
graceful spire,
Around which the swallows chirp
And robins sing at early morn,
pointing heavenwards as if to remind us of the chief aim of
our existence; the ever growing attractions around in orchard,
grove, garden and avenue, all perfumed with the breath of
flowers ; the extensive lawn “ carpeted so green and sweet ”,
-
128 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
ending only at the precipitous edge of the little rivulet, the
Tomfobia, which serves as a cloister-barrier on that side,
These are the principal features of this peaceful and happy
retreat, where science and religion, ever advancing hand in
hand, shall shed a beneficent influence over all the vicinity,
and far beyond the local horizon which sets a limit to our
vision, but not to our wishes for the future usefulness and
prosperity of this recent foundation, the Convent of the
Sacred Heart.
CHAPTER XVII
VISITS OF ENGLISH GOVERNORS TO THE URSULINES
DISTINGUISHED VISITORS
Our readers have already remarked that the pupils of the
Convent are afforded opportunities which not unfrequently
would have failed them in their own families, to approach
very distinguished personages, to address them perhaps, and
to listen to them discoursing untrammelled by the formalities
of their official capacity. The visits of the representatives of
our Gracious Sovereign especially, while they break the
monotony of the school-routine, serve to awaken the attention
of the pupils to the importance of many of their studies, while
adding a page to history and a day to be recalled with
pleasure in after years. Even the youngest of that group,
selected perhaps to offer bouquets while they plead for a
holiday, will be likely to associate with the pleasure they
enjoyed, a name and a date which will be a land-mark on the
fresh soil of memory.
Neither should the preparation for an entertainment or
the occasional reception of visitors be deemed a loss of time,
VISITS OF ENGLISH GOVERNORS 129
when all things are properly ordained, Besides the formation
of the manners of the pupils by enforcing the rules of
etiquette and the usages of society, the attentive teacher
will find these occasions an excellent test by which to know
the disposition, the defects, or the virtues of her youthful
charge, thereby to aid them in the difticult task of moulding
their character.
But, returning from this digression, we may state it as a
fact, that a visit to the Ursuline Convent has, from the
earliest times, formed a part of the programme of Governors
and other persons of high distinction when first entering the
city of Champlain, the old Stadacona, now called Quebec,
which for so many years was the capital of Canada.
We here recall to mind these distinguished visitors, omitting,
however, in the receding vista the more distant figures, most
amiable and courteous though they were. We can merely
mention a Governor Bagot with Lady Bagot and their
children, a Lord and Lady Elgin, so friendly in their visits
or in presiding at a distribution of prizes; a Sir Edmund
Head, a Lord and Lady Monck, the latter revisiting the
Convent with her daughters several times, assisting on one
occasion at a nun’s profession, and making it,a duty to come
and take leave of her ‘ Ursuline friends” on the eve of her
departure for England.
The present chapter will give occasion to such of our readers
as made the convent their home between the years 1868 and
1878, to revivify some pleasant pictures on memory’s page
by the mention of Lord and Lady Dufferin, whose first
official visit they have not forgotten, nor perhaps the second,
nor others, when they were accompanied by their family of
lovely children,
9
130 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
At the last visit of the distinguished Governor the young
lady appointed to speak for the community, after expressing
“ unfeigned regret for his departure, profound admiration for
his merit and gratitude for the favor of this and former
visits,” added “the warmest good wishes for his safe
return to his ancestral home, the ever undiminished pros-
perity of his future career in which”, she prophetically
declared, “new duties and new honors awaited to add new
lustre to aname already so distinguished,”
In answer His Excellency declared that he could not
think of leaving Canada whithout spending a few moments
under the venerable roof of the Ursulines, and bidding
farewell to its inmates, paying many a graceful tribute to
the institution, and dwelling in a manner which his own word
and emphasis only would adequately render, upon “ the self-
sacrifice of the inmates of the cloister, and their generosity
in giving up everything earthly for the training of the tender
youth committed to their care.”
At the moment of departure he took occasion to tell the
Superior, Mother Elizabeth Tims of St. Catherine, herself a
native of the Emerald Isle, that he would not have ventured
to return to Ireland and have to tell his wife that he had
neglected the promise he had made her a few weeks since—
“ that he would not leave Canada without bidding farewell
to the Ursulines of Quebec.” Thus closed the visit of Oct.
20th, 1878.
We have devoted a page to the official visit of the Marquis
of Lorne (1879); but the Marquis preferred an informal
visit, and with friends from Albion’s Isle, just arrived in
Quebec, more than once rang at the conventual door asking
leave to show them the antiquities of the Old Monastery.
On one occasion the Governor’s visit, coinciding with
a religious profession, the relatives of the newly professed
VISITS OF ENGLISH GOVERNORS 131
being known to the viceregal party, were admitted with His
Excellency and his suite as well as two American ladies,
sisters of two of the nuns ; and certainly of all the guests, they
naturally considered themselves the most fortunate !. Nor
is it forgotten in the Convent that, when in 1886 the Honor-
able G, Ouimet, visiting at the Exposition in London, met
the Marquis and the Princess, “they spoke with interest of
their friends in Canada, and sent kind messages to the
Ursulines.”
None of the Governors who have since been named to the
high office have deviated from the programme adopted by
their predecessors. Thus were received, in 1884, Lord and
Lady Lansdowne, with little lady Bertie, seven years old ;
in 1888, Lord and Lady Stanley; in 1893, Lord Montgomery
Moore and the amiable Lady Moore. Lord and Lady
Aberdeen, with their interesting family, have likwise honored
the Monastery by repeated friendly visits, official or informa),
presiding at the distribution of prizes when the occasion has
permitted, aud in every way manifesting their high appreci-
ation of the institution which Lord Dufferin had called “ the
eldest daughter of science in America ”,
If we have not been able to give a separate page to the
receptions of our Lieutenant-Governors, we would at least
not omit to mention their friendly readiness to make use
of the prerogative of their dignity by visiting the cloiste,
soon after their appointment to office. Our annals are
equally faithful in recording the event, which is historical as
wellas social. Possibly it is more familiar, as the Governor's
wife is likely to be a former pupil, already well known to
1—Mrs. William Baldwin of North Stratford, N. H. and Mrs. Sea-
brook of Washington, D.C.
182 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
the nuns and affectionately remembered, even as their own
memory is faithfully kept in the sanctuary of her grateful
heart.
How many other distinguished personages have visited
the Monastery whose names, had leisure permitted, it would
have been a pleasure to inscribe !
Ablegates and Papal Nuncios, missionary Bishops from
Hong-Kong and Vancouver, Archbishops and Bishops from
all th, great cities of the United States, not to speak of our
own beloved Cardinal, nor the Archbishops and Bishops of
the Dominion, whose presence within our little cloistered-
world is ever the signal of joyful demonstrations,
CHAPTER XVIII
CHILDREN OF MARY UNDER THE BANNER OF ST, URSULA
If it is glorious to bear “ the heat and burden of the day ”
in the service of the best of Masters by a long life of labor
and merit, is it not equally a blessed privilege, an inestim-
able grace, to win the crown of victory and receive the
blessed reward at the very onset of the combat, without
incurring the risks of the field or receiving the wounds that
scar the warrior of many battles,
Thus have we mused, recalling to mind those beloved ones
that have passed from our midst in the freshness of their
youth, the fervor of their first sacrifice, accepted for its '‘ odor
of sweetness in the presence of the Lord.” Their death may
have seemed premature, the prospect of their usefulness in
CHILDREN OF MARY, UNDER THE BANNER OF ST. URSULA 1338
the community, a failure to be deplored ; but faith has other
standards by which to judge, and the verdict, “ Blessed are
the dead who die in the Lord”, takes no account of years.
In the following notices of the Children of Mary who have
become Ursulines, we shall confine ourselves to those who
finished their course before the year 1884, a period of thirty-
three years dating from the first entry, in 1851,
From the establishment of the Sodality in 1846 to its
fiftieth year, 1896, the names of five hundred and sixty
pupils, following the course of studies in our classes as
boarders or half-boarders, have been inscribed on the list
of Children of Mary.
This simple fact is already a certificate in favor of the
young ladies thus distinguished, Of their fate in after years,
of their trials or their consolations, of the good odor of their
virtuous deeds, of their long life or early death, we are not
always prepared to render an account; although we are
aware that a considerable number have already passed
through the vicissitudes of their earthly existence, and gone
forth to that unknown country where we shall all one day
be gathered,
At this date, seventy-five of these Children of Mary are
known to have entered the religious state, forty-two having
made profession in the Old .Jonastery. Of these, more than
half are still active laborers here, or in our two recently
founded convents, some reckoning their twenty-five, thirty
or more years of profession. Let us hope they may long be
spared to cultivate the Vineyard of the Lord. and become as
remarkable for their longevity as they are for their piety,
zeal and usefulness,
The first member of the Sodality who entered our novi-
tiate was Miss Adéle Cimon, known in religion as Mother
134 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
St. Mary, Of her life and labors we have given a sketch as
one of the Superiors of the monastery, Her companion of
profession, Marie Louise Proulx of Ste. Julie, is still among
the laborers alluded to above.
The next Ursuline from the ranks of the Sodality was Miss
Monica Plante, a niece of our beloved Mother St. Gabriel.
Admitted to profession in 1853, Sister St. Stanislaus seems
to have followed the example of her holy patron, by her
love of the rule and her fidelity to all the duties of the relig-
ious state. Like him also, her short life was crowned by a
holy and happy death.
Following the footsteps of Sister St. Stanislaus and com-
pleting her course likewise at the age of twenty-eight, we meet
another sister-novice, Miss Glaphyre Gosselin of St. Gertrude,
received into the Sodality in 1852, and admitted to profession
as an Ursuline in 1857, Her memory is particularly dear
to those who knew her best, her companions in the novitiate,
or her pupils over whom she exercised the happiest
influence. Five years after her profession, the bright coun-
tenance which promised health proved—as only too often is
the case—the prophecy of an early death, Consumption lurked
beneath these fair appearances, and Mary had led her child
into the cloister, only to assure her place among the virgin
train whose entrancing song is the delight of Paradise. That
none but consoling thoughts are suggested by the last
moments of beloved Sisters like these, may be seen by the
lines we subjoin, which were written after the death of dear
Sister Monica Plante of St. Stanislaus,
ON THE DEATH OF DEAR SISTER ST, STANISLAUS,
I saw her on her dying bed,
That meek and gentle one.
She looked oi: death without a fear,
Well pleased her race was run.
CHILDREN OF MARY, UNDER THE BANNER OF ST, URSULA 135
She sweetly smiled, as there she leant
Upon her Saviour’s breast ;
An infant in its mother’s arms
Thus calmly takes its rest.
How dear unto the Lord, thought I,
Must be the heart’s fresh bloom,
Since, in reward, such blessed light
Is shed around the tomb !
How good it is to serve our God,
And lay up treasures, where
Nor moth, nor rust, will e’er corrupt,
Nor thieves purloin our share !
How sweet to have our hearts so pure
That, e’en should reason stray,
We'll talk of heaven, or with the saints,
To whom we've loved to pray !
But while I knelt with Sisters dear
Beside that bed of death,
And murmurs low of prayer went up
With her expiring breath,
I thought of one almost as young, !
But bound with other ties ;
Alas! around that dying couch,
Dark clouds of sorrows rise.
Oh! there he stood, her bosom friend,
Bowed low as in despair ;
Around six weeping children hung,
Imploring Heaven to spare,
But no! Death’s cruel dart was poised,
The fearful blow must fall.
Ah me! what grief! what utter woe !
The victim saw it all,
Yet nerved her heart to bid adieu
To all this earthly love.
Rejoice, O happy nun! that thou
Such anguish need not prove.
1—The writer’s sister, who died a few weeks previous.
136 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
Thy sacrifice, all gladly made
When thy young heart was rife
With all the hopes that beckon on,
And gild the way of life,
Hath won for thee this peaceful hour,
This rest from earthly care ;
Gently thy spirit may depart
Upon the wings of prayer.
Come hither now, ye pupils dear,
For whom she toiled and prayed ;
Who oft have met her cheerful smile
Mer dove-like voice obeyed,
Come, gaze uon that lifeless form,
Nor start with dread or fear ;
Is not the seal of blessedness
Upon her hallowed bier?
Say, is there not a holy spell
Brooding this cloislered ground,
As angels, with their clustering wings,
This peaceful tomb surround?
And is there not, in such a scene,
A power your hearts will own,
A power to win you all to live,
Like her, for God alone ?
The two next Children of Mary early lost to us were our
dear Sisters St. Isabella and St. lgnatins, known in the
world as Miss Ellen Allan and Anna Neville, both of the city
and both educated in our classes from their early years,
Lovely in character as they were in person, none who
were their companions as pupils can have forgotten their
piety and good example, the charm of their conversation,
the modesty of their address, their talents and application to
their studies, The novitiate seemed the proper sphere for
the unfolding of these lovely flowers, and tue community
had a right to anticipate much consolation in beholding the
fruit of their holy lives and labors,
CHILDREN OF MARY, UNDER THE BANNER OF ST. URSULA 137
But alas! only four years after pronouncing her holy
vows, Sister St. Isabella was attacked by that fell disease
which never spares its victim. The winter came, and on the
7th of Feb. 1862, our sweet Sister bade adieu to her mourn-
ing mothers and sisters on earth, to join the rejoicing ones in
heaven.
Sister St. Ignatius two years later, and only twenty-six
years of age like Sister St. Isabella, was taken from us to be
equally regretted. Her superior talents and qualifications as
a teacher had won the confidence of her pupils, when her
illness and premature death brought mourning to them as
well as to the community. ‘ A few weeks before her end, she
was so happy as to receive holy Communion at the hand of
her brother, Rev. John Neville, who celebrated his first Mass
in our church. It was the last time our dear Sister had leave
to go to the chapel. She seemed now to have but one wish
it was to be united to her God who had answered the prayer
nearest her heart: hee brother was a priest and she an
Ursuline !
Aimong our Lord’s favored ones, “ early called, early blest,”
we shall now mention Miss Sophie Bérubé of St. Michel,
who was received Child of Mary in 1853, and entered the
novitiate in 1856, to win the crown at the age of thirty-three,
after ten years of cheerful labor in the service of the best of
Masters. Perfection was the aim of our dear Sister’s every
act ; a loving confidence in God sustained her courage, while
it was doubtless the sweet reward of her fidelity to grace,
her constant attention to perform the duties or fulfil the
little offices that involve the sacrifice of one’s own will and
pleasure for the sake of others,
The gradual progress of that fatal disease to which she
was naturally predisposed, could not be long arrested by the
138 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
tender care of watchful mothers and sisters, who would fain
have purchased her restoration to health at any price,
During the winter of 1868, a settled cough brought on other
distressing symptoms, and soon our gentle Sister could foresee
that the approaching end would not long be delayed. But
with what peace, with what holy joy did she not welcome
the summons and accept the sacred rites preparatory to the
departure !
The prayers for the dying had been piously offered by the
community, and as the “ Bridegrown tarried,” a part of the
sisterhood had retired, leaving around the dying one the
Sisters who knew her best, to watch with her to the end,
After a little rest: “Chantez un cantique sur le ciel, s'il
vous plait,” said the faint voice. There was a little delay:
who would be able to sing at such a moment? But the
dying sister finds a voice and sings: “Quand vous contem-
plerai-je, 6 cvéleste séjour!” The voice falters, all is silent ;
the longing spirit has gone forth in that sigh for heaven.
Two other names, united on memory’s page in a similar
manner to those of Sisters St. Isabella and St. Ignatius, are
those of dear Sister Mary of the Presentation Matte, and
Sister St. Monica Nault. Both were received into the Sodalit:-
in 1856, at the age of fifteen. Thus they were companions as
pupils, but Miss Elzire Matte had bid adieu to her family at
the age of twenty-one, and her too brief career was already
accomplished when, in'1866, Miss Adele Nault entered
the novitiate, as if to perpetuate the examples of piety, fervor
and fidelity to grace, which had been given there by our
dear Sister Mary of the Presentation. We can only think
of dear Adéle and Elzire as of children marked by the
signet of sanctity from their earliest youth, We remember
their first Communion, their place in class from year to year,
CHILDREN OF MARY, UNDER THE BANNER OF ST. URSULA 139
their reception into the sodalities in each department, until
they both were happily invested with the insignia of the
Children of Mary. All the years of their school-life were
years of happy omen.
No one was surprised when Miss Elzire Matte asked her
admission to the novitiate, nor was it then apparent that her
health would fail so soon, But thus it had been ordained
by Him who appoints to each of us the measure of our days.
A rapid decline brought our dear Sister Mary of the Pre-
sentation the recompense promised to the pure in_ heart.
She had worn the veil of the professed novice only a little
more than two years.
Sister Adéle Nault of St. Monica was the second of the
five daughters of Dr. Zephirin Nault, the physician of the
community for many years, all of whom were pupils in our
classes from the age of six or seven to the close of their
education. Adele’s talents were of a high order; but her
memory as a pupil is cherished still more for the loveliness
of her character, in which modesty, gentleness, candor, gaiety,
forgetfulness of self and readiness to oblige, were set off and
enhanced by piety as sincere as it was unostentatious. Such
a pupil at the head of a class, or the first of a division, ren-
ders more service to a teacher for the enforcement of disci-
pline and the formation of character than can be told. Happily
such pupils are found among the Children of Mary nearly
every year, and they are ever remembered, even when they
do not end their days like Adéle as members of the sister-
hood.
As a novice Sister St. Monica’s virtues were such as might
be expected, knowing already her energetic character and
her pious inclinations, After leaving school with the highest
honors, she had spent a few years in her family, one of those
truly Christian families where religion and virtue hold the
|
140 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
first place, and this had not interfered unfavorably with her
accustomed practices of piety. What a consolation it was to
dear Mother St. Andrew to welcome from her death-bed the
entry of the two postulants, Adéle and her sister Emma!
And what a day of rejoicing in the community was the 8th
of September, 1868, which witnessed the consecration of these
and two other promising subjects, Sisters Emma Cimon of
St. John the Baptist and Célina Doré of the Presentation.
Four years more passed in the peaceful and happy fulfil-
ment of daily duties under the sanction of obedience, thus
rendered as pleasing and acceptable in the sight of Heaven
as the incense of prayer before the altar of sacrifice. Sister
St. Monica was the doyenne of twenty sister-novices and
was about to take her place among the community nuns,
where so qualified a subject was no doubt destined to render
important services,
Such was the prospect when at the close of the vacation of
1872, our beloved Sister was suddenly attacked by adangerous
illness, so violent that not all the skill of the medical art
could suffice to arrest its progress. The sacraments brought a
temporary relief; but our dear Sister knew that it was the
calm of approaching death. She had borne her sufferings
with a patience and resignation only equalled by the sorrow
and consternation of the community at this unlooked-for
bereavement ; and now she accepted the stroke of death as
the merciful opening of the gates of heaven, where she would
meet the beloved Spouse of her soul, for whom alone she
might have desired to live and labor through the course of
many years,
The year following the death of Sister St. Monica, another
Child of Mary of 1855 heard the call from Paradise where
perhaps our sweet Adéle had left “the golden gates ajar.”
CHILDREN OF MARY, UNDER THE BANNER OF ST. URSULA 141
Our dear Sister St. Clotilda is ready to obey the call, although
she has not yet completed the ninth year of her religious
life. Before her change of name, our Sister was known as
Miss Thersille Sénécal, and belonged to the parish of Longueuil
near Montreal.
On being admitted to the novitiate her only ambition had
been to become a true religious, and with this object in view
the obligations and sacrifices of the religious life had seemed
to her that “ yoke ” of the Lord which He has pronounced
to be “light.” Her piety, gentleness and generosity in the
service of God were a source of edification to all around her,
while the same qualities joined to her devotedness as a
teacher, won the hearts of her pupils and enabled her to
promote their best interest by her influence over them, But
the brightest gems of her crown were yet to be earned, set
in the pure gold of suffering. A long and tedious illness
did not exhaust her patience, which she nourished by a
constant remembrance of the Passion.
Pious and exemplary to the last, her name is ever men-
tioned with the affection and regret due to one who has
lived for God alone, and served Him to the best of her power.
Sister St. Clotilda died October 30th, 1873, in the thirtieth
year of her age.
It was during the month of March, 1874, that the com-
munity was called to mourn the premature loss of dear Sister
Isabella McDonald of St. Stanislaus, a niece of our dear
Mothers St. Andrew and St. John. She had labored chiefly
among the pupils of the extern-school, but with what ardor,
what zeal for their improvement, and above all for their
progress in virtue! Her charity for the poorer class rendered
her ingenious in finding means to procure them the articles
of apparel which they most needed, and these were fashioned
142 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
by her own hands from old clothing or remnants which she
had begged permission to dispose of in this way. Severe
to herself while she was all kindness to others, her health
was far undermined before it was perceived to be failing.
Even when she could no longer rise from her bed the natural
energy of her character deceived us so far, that the approach
of death was perceived barely in time for the administration
of the last sacraments, St. Joseph, to whom she was most
devout, could not have failed to protect the last moments of
his faithful client. Her act of resignation had long been
prepared and her last look at the crucifix was one cf utter
trust, as her trembling lips softly murmured : ‘ Into thy
hands, O Lord, I commit my spirit.”
She had devoted fourteen years to the service of God in
the community where her memory is ever cherished; and
the touching examples of her piety and fervor will long be
recounted as a source of edification and encouragement, At
her decease, her companion of profession and twenty-seven
sisters whose profession had followed here, were still at their
labors.
Sister Ste. Félicité, known in the world as Miss Julie
Thivierge, was received into the Sodality of the Children of
Mary in 1853 with her sister Philoméne and the Misses
Sophie and Mathilde Bérubé. She was admitted to profes-
sion in 1858 with Sister Bérubé of St. Michel, while the
two above-nained sisters of the two Uisulines chose to serve
God among the nuns of the Good Shepherd in another part of
the city.
If Miss Thivierge had been the consolation of her teachers
while a pupil, she was no less the edification of her Sisters
and the joy of her mistress when a novice. Ready for every
duty, seeing the will of God in that of her superiors,
CHILDREN OF MARY, UNDER THE BANNER OF ST. URSULA 148
prepared for every sacrifice, her daily life was equally
peaceful and meritorious, Entrusted with the direction of a
division as well as with a class soon after her profession, she
continued to render service in these important offices till
attacked by the severe symptoms of the malady which was
destined to end her earthly existenve.
Beloved and esteemed by her pupils, who had appreciated her
maternal kindness, aud her gentle yet firm exercise of autho-
rity, she had the consolation of exerting a salutary influence
over their conduct even from her sick-room. A word of
encouragement or advice written by their good Mother Ste,
Félicité was ever received with joy and acted upon with
touching fidelity. It was in Mary’s month, May 14th, 1877,
at the age ef forty years, that our beloved Sister, Mary’s
faithful servant, was called to enjoy the reward promised to
those who “ instruct others unto righteousness.” She had
pissed twenty years in this blessed employ, and of such
Scripture says that they “ shine like the stars of heaven to
all eternity.”
With the memory of Sister Ste, Félicité,we naturally asso-
ciate that of Sister Marie du Carmel, a sister-novice and a
co-laborer during many years, although in another depart-
ment, Known in the world as Miss Olympe Gagnon, and
admitted to the novitiate after passing several years in our
classes, Sister Marie du Carmel was an efficient teacher and
willingly spent herself for the advancement of her pupils,
Charged in the department of the half-boarders with the
studies which constitute the Course of Literature, at the
same time that she was the directress of the senior division,
she knew how to render her classes pleasant and her teaching
useful, Many an ingenious device was adopted whereby to
nourish their piety, direct their imagination and form their
144 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
character. From the overflowing source in her own heart,
she drew forth, now a maxim to be unfolded in the form of
a composition, now a lively but useful remark which falling
unexpectedly, was apt to make an indelible impression.
Leaving her cell after a restless night, she entered the
infirmary for a little repose before repairing to the class-room,
An hour later medical aid was called in, only to find our
dear Sister attacked by a dangerous malady from which it
was probable she could not recover, The sentence was
received with the tranquillity of one who had foreseen the
hour, and had daily lived prepared to offer at any moment
the sacrifice of her life.
There are circumstances when every thing conspires to
augment the grief of a mourner and to render it overwhelm-
ing. Thus it was on this occasion, when one among us
beheld her only sister dying, while the death of their aged
mother had been hastened by hearing of the serious illness of
her daughter ! Their souls set free from the incumbrance of
the body and all its ills, were happily united before either
was aware of the release of the other.
The bereaved one, Mother Ste. Antoinette Gagnon, since
appointed to guide the community in the office of Superior,
found comfort inthe sympathy with which she was surrounded,
while the touching grief of the pupils was another proof that
in calling our beloved Sister to Himself, Our Lord had
rewarded one who had faithfully sought to do good to their
souls, She labored in the vineyard twenty-six years since her
profession, and attained the age of forty-seven years,
Other names appear on the list of the deceased Children
of Mary, not. one of which could be written without suggest-
ing sweet thoughts of the dear departed. Some of them won
their crown almost at the first hour of the day; others at the
CHILDREN OF MARY, UNDER THE BANNER OF ST. URSULA 145
third, or at a later hour of their labor, Among the latter
would be found Célina Doré of the Presentation, whose pro-
fession we have mentioned already, Her death occurred in
1880, after fourteen years of faithful labor,while the same year
Sister Emma Turcotte of St. Dominique, only seven years
professed, hastened to seize her reward with the same fervor
that had urged her at every moment “ never to spare herself,
nor to miss an opportunity to oblige another.”
Next on the list, we meet the names of the two Misses
McDonald, The youngest generously offered herself f r the
labors of the new Convent at Stanstead. The bore the name
of Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart, and has already won
the reward of a fervent, pure and holy life. Sister Mary Ann
McDonald of St. Benedict had been retained by the duties she
owed her family till a more advanced age than would have
been her choice. But with what avidity she soug’t to make
amends, as it were, for delay, and with such success that
her crown was won with the close of her noviceship, Pro-
fessed in 1874, she passed away in 1880.
We shall only mention one more Child of Mary, Sister
Malvina Pouliot of St. Alphonse, whose feeble health had
sustained the labors of ten years when she departed from
among us in 1883, rich in the merit of the virtues she had
practised with unremitting fervor, Her love of poverty and
its sister virtues, mortification and humility, was remarkable.
Intelligent and fond of study, she was most ingenious in
devising means to communicate knowledge to the pupils under
her charge. Several of her devices were such as, in other
hands and, perhaps we should add —in other lands—would
have been patented to serve the cause of education and to
enrich the fortunate patentee. But her ambition was only to
benefit her pupils and to fulfil in the best possible manner
10
146 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
en —— a es
her duty towards them, Her end long foreseen was prepared
for in the peace of a conscience without reproach, leaving her
community comforted by the assurance that their loss was to
her an eternal gain,
Without pursuing these brief notices further, we can only
declare that the dear unnamed Sisters who have been called
to their reward since 1883, the date of the last we have
given, had with equal edification accomplished the duties of
their state, and now that they “sleep in the Lord”, each has
her place in the affectionate remembrance of the community.
“ Tender memories cling around them
Like the ivy on the trees,
Memories of the dead and saintly,
Sweet as breath of southern breeze”’.
They are still a part of the cloistered family, whose links
when broken by death, are repaired, like those of the families
of the world, in another more lasting home where joy is
perennial and where mourning and tears are unknown,
CHAPTER XIX
GOLDEN JUBILKES OF THE LAST DECADE, 1879-1889
MOTHER ST, JANE DE CHANTAL née VICTORIA WHITE
1830-—1880-1885
Among the seven jubilarians of the last decade, from 1879
to 1889, four were addressed in English, their mother-tongue.
This circumstance will enable us to initiate our readers into
the spirit of these celebrations. within the cloister, by citing
MOTHER ST. JANE DE CHANTAL 147
some of the metrical compliments, which take the form of a
little poem, or a simple song, according to the occasion or
the inspiration of the hour,
Let us introduce first Mother St. Jane de Chantal, née
White, who made profession in 1830, under the superiority
of Mother St. Henry,
“ Three young ladies from New York, under the protection
of Bishop Dubois, one of them to enter the novitiate, the
others the boarding-school,” is the entry in our Annals, at
the date of June 24th, 1828.
This new candidate for the cloister was Miss Victoria White,
born and baptized inthe American metropolis, of parents who
were natives of Catholic Ireland. Miss White was eighteen
years of age, but so diminutive in stature that had it not
been for the perfect symmetry of form and feature, she might
have passed for a child of twelve. It was long remembered
in the community that Mother St. Helen, impressed with
the childlike appearance of her little postulant, now resting
fast asleep from the fatigue of her long journey, would
call in the Sisters as they passed before the door of the
novitiate, to point out to them the baby hands and feet of
the new comer. .
But Miss Victoria White needed only to be known to
justify a homely proverb which was quite applicable in her
case. With the habit and veil of the order, the postulant
received the name of St. Jane de Chantal, and entered
with alacrity upon the duties assigned her, anxious only to
correspond to the grace of her vocation and become a true
religious, Although she was never robust in health, her
usefulness, whether in the class-room or in other offices, was
most satisfactory. The severity of our Canadian winters caused
her more suffering than the tropical heat of Texas, and her
long sojourn there was not a preparation to meet the rigors
148 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
of the climate with less difficulty on her return home, Yet
was she enabled to render service here again during several
years in the various oftices of Depositary, Assistant, and Mis-
tress of novices,
On the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of our dear Mother
in 1880, the pupils offered a festive entertainment, with the
reading of the subjoined ode.
ON THE GOLDEN JUBILEE OF REV. MOTHER ST JANE DE CHANTAL
“ Within thy courts, O Lord, how sweet to dwell ;
How sweet to love and serve Thee, none can tell !
My soul with pious longings pines away,
As all Thy mercies I review to-day.
“Twas long ago, responding to Thy call,
To home I bade adieu, to friends, to all .
The world could offer; choosing Thee alone
To be my portion. Fifty years have flown,
Making those sacred ties more precious still,
And binding me to Thee with firmer will.
Oh! what return, dear Lord, can I propose ?
How speak the gratitude my full heart knows ?
The promised ‘ hundred-fold’ e’en here below,
Has been my share; and well I know
Eternal life Thou hast in store for me.
Ah! when shall dawn that Golden Jubilee!”
Thus in her ecstasy our Mother prayed,
And of her ardent soul, the depths betrayed ;
While we with joy our kindest greeting brought,
Our simple offerings, with affection fraught.
Yes! tifty years ago a novice came
Before this altar with her heart aflame.
Slight was her form and gentle was her mien :
Angels rejoiced, friends wept the touching scene,
As that fair maiden signed her solemn vow,
And sang: “ My spouse hath set upon my brow
His signet. Veiled, [’m now His happy bride ;
No earthly love shall e’er my heart divide.”
MOTHER ST. JANE DE OHANTAL 149
a
That blissful hour, long past, O Moragr pear,
Rises all fresh upon this Fiftieth year.
The lovely autumn morn with sky serene,
Seems to depict what your career las been ;
How peaceful and how pure that blameless life,
Given ali to God, “ remote from care and strife.”
What pen or pencil fully could portray
The countless merits even of one day,
Where every moment, aimed by love divine,
The wealth of worlds unnumbered doth outshine ?
Whether in training youth, to walk secure
In “ Wisdom’s ways,” and endless joys ensure ;
Whether in fervent prayer, and converse sweet
With God, at His most Holy Will, how fleet
Have sped the years |...... Ralievecesshespeceevere
toeedeepaseeden sense Shall I, dear Mother, tell
How to your Convent home you bade farewell
When, moved by holy zeal, a distant land
Beheld you come, to lend a gen’rous hand
In long and arduous labors? Texas learned
To bless your name. And when at length you turned
After the lapse of nineteen burning years,
Your footsteps homeward, many were the tears
That wept the parting.—But how glad the cheer
That greeted your arrival, Mother dear!
How rang the joy-bells through our cloistered home,
When you were sheltered safe, no more to roam!
And since, twelve other summers gliding by
In peace, nor weighing on you heavily
Have proved the adage, in their rapid flight :
“« Sweet is the burden of the Lord, his yoke is light!"
The faithful spouse oF sesus asks no rest
But at His feet, and still at His behest,
She labors in the vineyard ; now to guide
Our toiling Marthas who in her confide ;
Now, young and tender plants she trains secure,
By wise example, and by counsel sure.
Permit us then, dear Mother, in the song
That from our full hearts joyous pours along,
150 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
To greet you; while our prayers, on wings of love,
Call richest blessings on you from above.
Oh! what will be in Heaven the bliss untold,
When we all gathered there, within the fold,
In that dear féte which lasts eternally
Shall celebrate that GoLDEN JUBILEE !
Mother St. Jane de Chantai’s e’* .gium may be com-
prised in a few words: she was truly a model religious, Her
uniform fidelity to every duty, her zeal for the instruction of
youth, her unbounded charity, united to tender piety, ren-
dered her very dear to her community, and when (1885) at the
age of seventy-five, a few years after the joyful celebration
of the 50th anniversary of her profession, a brief illness
ended in a calm and peaceful exchange of life for immortal-
ity, the dear departed was as sincerely mourned as her
memory has been lovingly and reverently cherished.
MOTHER ST, PAUL, NEE JEANNE LETOURNEAU
1830-1880-1890
With Miss White, another young lady, Miss Jeanne
Létourneau, had taken the veil in 1828, adopting the name
of Sister St. Paul. They celebrated together the 50th anniver-
sary of their professien, in September 1880. Mother St. Paul
alone wes destined to the rarer honors of the Diamond
Jubilee.
Miss Létourneau is another of those truly precious subjects
recruited for the community from that parish so fertile in reli-
gious vocations, St. Pierre du Sud. From her earliest years
Jeanne’s only care had been to please God and “ obey His
commandments,” even as she was taught by her good parents,
a hh, ee
MOTHER ST. PAUL 151
Entering religion at the age of seventeen, her delight was
to converse with God in prayer, to visit Him in the holy
tabernacle, to serve Him by acts of charity exercised towards
all whom she could succor or oblige. Her life was like that
of the lowly violet, hidden in the verdant turf and ready to
be forgotten, were it not forthe sweet perfume which betrays
its presence, In the care of the sick as infirmarian, in
the duty of seamstress, preparing clothing for the sisterhood,
in teaching or in the charge of portress and in the office of
zelatrix, the fervent spouse of Jesus found her delight, and
daily embellished her crown by the utmost fidelity in little
things as in great, serving God as if she “ beheld Him face
to face.”
Our good Mother St. Paul had the consolation of seeing
six of her nieces Ursulines, three of them in her own com-
munity. The eldest of these, Rev. Mother Mary of the
Assumption, had lately been elected Superior when occurred
the Diamond Jubilee of our venerable doyenne, September
30th, 1890.
Of her other nieces, one occupied at the time the charge
of Assistant-Superior in our new foundation at Roberval,
another the same position in Stanstead, and a third at Water-
ville, a foundation from the Ursuline Convent of Three
Rivers,
From these circumstances this Diamond Jubilee was one
of unwonted éclat. Greetings and festal offerings poured in
from all the religious communities of the city, as well as
from Three Rivers, Roberval, Stanstead and Waterville,
The beloved jubilarian, although feeble, had enjoyed the
celebration, especially the joyful sacred chants, the touching
exhortation, the sisterly greeting which revived the fadeless
memories of that other day when first she had vowed her
young life to her Maker’s service in that same quiet chapel.
152 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
The Mothers and Sisters of that “long ago” were not around
her to-day, she missed the companion of her consecration to
God ; but would she not soon rejoin them all in that world
where there is naught but unalloyed happiness ?
Alas! for earthly joys. Even in the convent contrasted
scenes are frequent. Only one short month after these
rejoicings, a mortal illness, in the space of a few days, reduced
the aged Mother to the last extremity. Yet all was peace
around that dying couch. The sacraments received, the
prayers for -a departing soul softly murmured, a last look at
the crucifix, a last sigh and all is over, Nothing remains but
the mournful bier, the solemn requiem, the humble grave,
around which, however, memory still keeps her vigils while
hope points upward to the home of the blest, and whispers :
“She is there !”
MOTHER ST, SCHOLASTICA (MARY TERESA SHERLOCK)
1831-1881-1883
Next on our lists in thg order of profession, after the name
of Mother St, Paul, is that of Sister Mary Teresa Sherlock.
Born of Irish parents in London, England, in 1806, Miss
Sherlock’s education was well advanced when her father,
Mr. James Sherlock, came to Canada with his family, con-
sisting of his wife and several sons and daughters,
Mary Teresa, after passing six months in studying the
French language in our classes, entered the novitiate, and
was admitted to the emission of her vows, November 10th,
1831.
Employed as a teacher in our English classes at the exter-
nat, the only Catholic school in Quebec at that time where
the young girls of the Irish congregation of Saint Patrick’s
MOTHER ST. SCHOLASTICA 153
could obtain suitable religious instruction, Sister St. Scholas-
tica was indefatigable in her efforts to benefit her pupils, by
inculeating in their young hearts the principles of our
holy religion, at the same time that she sought their advance-
ment in the other branches of an elementary course of
studies,
Many of these children were poor, and often was their
teacher’s heart wrung with pity at the sight of their wan
faces and tattered garments, Then was she eloquent in
pleading for the means to relieve their distress, means which
the good Superior, Mother St. Henry, liberally, yet prudently
bestowed as often as possible.
In later years, Sister St. Scholastica was employed among
the boarders, teaching English in classes where patience and
pains-taking are especially required owing to the French
origin of the majority of the pupils.
Till an advanced age she was employed at the institute,
and every where her earnest efforts for the improvement of
her pupils were crowned with success, Her tastes were
notably artistic, and specimens of her fancy work and em-
broidery, are easily recognized by those who have once
examined her handiwork,
Her deep piety and truly religious spirit alone sufficed to
sustain her under the sufferings and infirmities with which
it pleased Our Lord to visit her during the latter part of her
life. Ever patient and cheerful, if acute pains forced the tears
to her eyes, she would quickly exclaim : “ Oh! it is noting.
The tears will come; I can’t help it.”
All her lifetime she entertained a tender interest in the
welfare of her family, and was ever sensible to their vary-
ing fortunes, rejoicing or mourning with them with true sis-
terly affection. In her deep sorrow, when occurred the
“ 4
154 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
death of her father and mother within the space of one short
month, one of the sisterhood offered her sympathy in the
following lines,
O Sister! weep not: side by side
All peacefully they take their rest.
Their faithful souls naught could divide ;
Their life was sweet, their death, how blest!
Why wouldst thou weep? Their lamp was bright,
Their crown all glowing in the sky;
Their souls were ready for the flight
‘lo purer regions there on high.
Why wouldst thou weep? The holy ties
That bound them, for a moment riven,
Are now renewed in yonder skies ;
Behold! they bless thee now from heaven !
In 1881, Mother St. Scholastica celebrated her Golden
Jubilee, receiving the tokens of grateful affection which
former pupils and friends delight to offer on such occasions.
Among them all, none was more beautiful nor more highly
prized than a: delicate piece of embroidery in fish-scales,
wrought by the hands of her own sister, Mother St. Teresa,
a professed nun, and since Superior in the Ursuline Convent
of St. Martin, Brown County, Ohio. The following ode, char-
acteristic of her nationality was offered by the novices.
ODE FOR THE GOLDEN JUBILEE OF MOTHER ST,
SCHOLASTICA.,
November 10th. 1881.
Far across the great deep, from the green Isle of Erin,
That land where the Saints seem to spring from the sod,
To the Land of the West, came a fair youthful maiden,
The crown of fond parents, their “ present from God.”
MOTHER ST. SCHOLASTICA 155
All in vain were the charms of the world or its pleasures,
For her heart was attracted by more lasting treasures ;
And rapt was her soul by the entrancing measures
Of a strain, more melodious than: “ Erin go bragh!"
’Twas the Hymn of the Virgin train, known to no ocher,
Save their own choir resplendent, in vesture so white ;
With the Lamb, in the midst of “ green pastures,” they gather,
And, attuning their harps in His praises unite.
It was thus the young maidem, her high hopes reposing
On the promise of Jesus, her secret disclosing,
Bade adieu to dear friends, who her purpose opposing,
Would fain have retained her with “ Hrin go bragh.”
How bright was the sky on that November morning,
When light thro’ the cloister the gleeful news sped !
How clear did the merry bells ring out the warning,
“The Bride stands arrayed her dear Jesus to wed!"
And since that great day, oft the same vows repeating,
What a wealth there’s in store for the moments so fleeting
Of a life, all for God,—and in heaven what a meeting!
While angels sing ‘‘ welcome ” and “ Alleluia” !
Now that “bride” in her Jubilee honors rejoices,
The rare ‘‘ Golden Wedding”, the Fiftieth Year.
With her transports we mingle our jubilant voices,
And high lift the choral strain, mellow and clear.
Tis the deep tide of gratitude, from its fount welling,
In the heart where the Spirit of God is indwelling ;
And that stream, ever full, with its bright waves all swelling,
Makes music, e’en sweeter than * Hrin go bragh.”
One day, dearest Mother, a fadeless crown wearing,
The ills of life ended, its dangers all o’er,
With the Virgin choir counted, their happy fate sharing,
Their canticle sweet thou shalt sing evermore.
Ere this festive day passes, its golden rays spending,
Let our wishes and greetings, with dulcet notes blending,
Be the pledge of affection’s pure incense ascending -
In prayer, while we sing again “' Hrin go bragh.”
156 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
In 1878, Mother St. Scholastica’s death, long foreseen
through her many infirmities, brought her the reward of her
seventy-six years, of which fifty-five had been spent in religion,
MOTHER ST, PHILIP (MISS LOUISE AYLWIN)
1832-1882-1893
When in the early springtide of 1830, Miss Louisa, daughter
of the Hon, Judge Aylwin, called upon the Superior of the
convent to ask her admission to the novitiate, the prudent
Mother must have hesitated iv encourage her project. Slight
in figure, delicate in complexion and health, apparently fond
of the gaieties of the society of Quebec, of which she had
seen much since leaving the convent three years previous,
. how had she learned to despise the world, how would she
support the austerity of the religious life? On the other
hand, Louisa had been carefully brought up by her mother,
who was a fervent Catholic; she had been remarked at
school for her tender piety, her love for her religion, which,
alas for them! was not that of her father nor her brothers,
Louisa urged her suit. Mother St. Henry consulted with
her counsellors, and the young candidate was admitted to
test her vocation by the exercises of the novitiate. Sub-
sequently she took the veil with the name of Sister St. Philip.
The delicate health of the novice continued to be a source of
anxiety, but her many excellent qualities, her persevering
desire to consecrate herself to God, the knowledge of the
dangers to which she would be exposed in the world, and on
the other hand, the thought of the happiness it would be for
her to become a religious, decided the nuns to admit her to ~
profession. Yet this delicate frame was destined to last, and
MOTHER ST. PHILIP 157
to bear the burden of life-long ailings, ever light-hearted,
ever grateful to the Lord for the favor of dwelling in His
House, among His chosen ones.
Mother St. Philip’s delight was to be with the children, to
teach them, ever inculcating the principles of our holy reli-
gion, to win their hearts to God by showing them every
kindness, Even when age and ir:creased infirmities ren-
dered it impossible for her to teach a class, still she loved to
visit them, to have an opportunity of doing them good by a
kind word or act, manifesting the same interest in them as
in former years she had shown their mothers or perhaps
their grandmothers.
Of all our Sister’s amiable qualities and virtues, none has
left us so lasting an impression as her unfeigned and never
failing charity.
With her, kindness seemed no studied act, but rather the
spontaneous impulse of a heart overflowing with that love
which finds it well-spring in the loving Heart of our Blessed
Lord, Acts of charity seemed so necessary to her own hap-
piness that she was most ingenious im discovering occasions
to give pleasure or render service. Weariness or pain was
not sufficient to prevent her from welcoming her Sisters with
a cheerful smile, and often would a gay repartee instead of
an account of her sufferings be the unexpected response to
their words of inquiry,
Thus gently flowed the stream of time till eighty-three
years had filled the measure allotted to our venerable doy-
enne, A severe attack of the “ grippe ” was the signal for a
departure long foreseen and calmly prepared for. This took
plave on the 2nd of January, 1893.
Mother St. Philip was greeted asa Jubilarian in September,
1882. The novices of that date took part in the celebration
158
by inviting the dear Mother to their gaily decorated hall and
sang in her honor to the accompaniment of harp, guitar and
piano, the following song composed for the occasion,
SONG
FOR THE GOLDEN
REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
DEAR MOTHER ST, PHILIP.
Sept. 6th, 1882.
Haste with songs of gladness,
On this joyful day,
To our gentle Mother
Greetings kind convey !
Fifty years have glided
Down the stream of life,
All with merit freighted,
All with blessings vife.
Never, gentle Mother,
Could our poor words tell,
How the love of Jesus,
In your heart doth dwell.
Like a golden censer,
Whence doth perfune rise,
Ever sends your pure soul
Incense to the skies.
From the morning’s rising
To the evening’s wane,
Prayer, or loving labor,
Or long hours oi ain ;
Such has been the garland
Twined thro’ Fifty years ;
And how richly glowing
This bright wreath appears !
Greeting thee, dear Mother,
Lovingly we come ;
Bright the Golden Wedding
In our cloister-home,
WEDDING OF OUR VERY
MOTHER 8ST. ANNE 159
Corvus. Joy bells merrily, ring out cheerily ;
Bright birds on the wing,
Lend us notes to sing!
Oh! what notes of glee, to sing the Golden Jubilee!
In our love we crown thee
While our songs so gay,
Greet thee, gentle Mother,
On thy Golden-Wedding Day.
MOTHER ST, ANNE (MISS SERAPHINE TRUTEAU)
1834-1884-1888
On the first of January, 1888, the three most agetl nuns
of the community, Mother St. Gabriel, Mother St. Anne and
Mother St. John, were together the inmates of the infirmary.
Before the end of February, their graves had been filled, Our
three dear elders had disappeared, leaving a void which will
long be felt, and a memory which will never be forgotten.
It is a grateful task to devote a memorial page here to
dear Mother St. Anne.
Miss Séraphine Truteau, was born in 1798, in Montreal,
of an honorable family, which gave to the Church a distin-
guished clergyman in the person of her brother Very Rev.
Truteau, V. G. She entered our novitiate at the age of thirty-
four, her health not permitting her to execute sooner the
pious desire which she had nourished since the age of fifteen.
This long experience of life, joined to a sound judgment
and a solid education, enabled Mother St. Anne to render
~ important services to the community of her adoption in the
offices of Assistant and Zelatrix, but especially in the treat-
ment of the sick. Possessing much medical skill bot) :atural
160 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
and acquired, she used it with that kindness of word and
manner which are more valued by the patient than the
soothing prescription.
Her experience in the care of the sick was a great relief to
the infirmarian, who could depend upon her presence by the
dying, as upon the most skilful of physicians, while her piety
was a comfort to the dear patient by whose bedside she would
keep watch with the tenderness of a mother, till the last sigh
had ended tle last combat.
No one could be more zealous for the strict observance of
the rule than was Mother St, Anne, whose spirit was in
perfect accordance with the traditions of the house,
Our good Mother was not spared the suffering and the
merit df a state of helplessness, which confined her to the
infirmary during the last fifteen mgnths of her life. There
she continued to edify the community by her assiduity to
prayer which, without the aid of books, filled her days with
that intercessory sacrifice so pleasing to God and so useful
to souls, Ever cheerful and enlivening her conversation by
many an anecdote of her younger days, or drawing from her
well-stored mind the sayings of the wise and good, her visit-
ors received the pleasure which they had intended to con-
vey, and thus reaped a double benefit from an act of charity.
Early in January, 1888, a cold on the lungs gave some
cause of anxiety ; and our pious Mother asked to be fortified
by the last sacraments, Her experience of the sick had
turned to her own advantage, for death was really approach-
ing. It had no terrors for the dear patient, who preserved
her presence of mind and her serenity to the last, calmly
resigning her soul to Him who gave it, on the 14th of January,
at the age of ninety, of which she had spent fifty-two in the
religious life.
MOTHER STE. PHILOMENY 161
'
GOLDEN JUBILEK OF MOTHER STE, PHILOMENE
On a preceding page we have given a brief notice of
Mother Ste. Philoméne, as one of Mother St, Andrew’s novices,
In 1888, she was still listening to the piano or the harp,
during the hours devoted by the novices to their practice on
these instruments,
That saine year occurred the celebration of her Golden
Jubilee of profession, Three of those who had been her
companions in the novitiate were near her, An ode composed
by one of them on this occasion we here subjoin.,
TO DEAR MOTHER STE, PHILOMENE ON THE OCCASION OF
HER GOLDEN JUBILEE
}
}
As when in sunset glow, the azure skies
Of faintest hue mingle with golden dyes }
In mellowed lustre, till the vista seems
The gate of heaven, opened to fancy’s dreams ;
E’en thus, dear Mother, turning to the past,
The countless blessings o’er thy pathway cast
Awake within thy soul emotions sweet,
As now thy Golden Jubilee we greet.
When Jesus for His Bride chose thee, alway.
Thy cloistered Mothers led thee to His feet,
And Sisters waited, tenderly to greet H
The happy one. But where are they to-day, |
i
Long years ago dawned that auspicious day i
|
Those Mothers dear, those Sisters, where are they ?
Gone many ! gone to God! yet there remain a,
Some scattered pearls of that long silvery chain
So lustrous then. Ah! through those fifty years, -
Oft was its broken! oft bedewed with tears.
11
162 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
But let us now recall that solemn hour
When the strong will of youth asserts its power ;
Viewing outspread a broad and flowery way,
Where pleasure leads a giddy throng astray,
And yet resolves to make a wiser choice,
Listening all docile to the Saviour’s voice.
Oh, what a moment! With the light-winged dove
That seeks its rest in some secure alcove,
The soul its pinions lifts and upward soars
Above the region where the tempest roars.
In one bold sweep she cleaves the darksome clouds,
In Jesus’ Heart, her fate she safely shrouds.
Thus, Mother dear, didst thou obey the call,
And for thy Saviour’s love abandon all!
And now, when Fifty years have swiftly fled,
Still doth the sacrifice its fragrance shed.
During that space, what victories were thine!
What “crowns of justice” waiting for thee, shine !
How many youthful hearts to virtue won,
What treasures in a lite for God alone !
Where all was lowly, but the wish sublime
That Jesus might be loved in every clime.
Behold, dear Mother, gathered here to-day,
Thy pupils, past and present, to convey
Our grateful wishes and our greetings kind :
Deep in our hearts thy name beloved is shrined.
We sought a garland for thy brow, and lo!
Fresh roses bloomed anil lilies white as snow,
Sweet emblems these of purity and love,
Till Jesus crown His faithful spouse above.
Yet haste thee not! among us still delay ;
For this our loving hearts united pray.
Six years were added to her long and peaceful career,
years of quiet occupation, suited to her feebler state of
health; years of union with God by prayer and recollection,
less interrupted than formerly, but possibly not more real.
MOTHER STE. PHILOMENE 163
The end came, as might have been foretold, all beautiful
in its gentleness !, A slight cold affecting the lungs, a few
days of uncertainty as to the gravity of the malady, which
is then declared beyond remedy. The calm of perfect resig-
nation ; the last consolations of holy Church; the last adieu
and the last sigh: “ Sweet Jesus, receive my spirit,” and all
is over for this life. O blessed Faith which unfolds the
brighter future of a happiness that knows no end!
1—Extract from a letter written by the son of M. Derby, Esq.
(Sister St. Philomena’s guardian) on receiving news of her decease.
“ Thave this moment received your letter, containing the news of
the death of Sister St. Philomena, This intelligence [ have at once
sent to my brother and sister in Boston, and you may be sure it will
be received by them as it has been by me, with sincere sorrow. From
my earliest years, the name of Mary Kelly, or Sister Philomena, has
been like a household word. As years went on I have always, when
in Canada, gone out of ny way to visit our old family-friend. [ have
enjoyed the hearty welcome ofour dear Sisterin the company of
my mother, of my wife, and last summer, I took my little daughter
with me.
What a beautiful life hers was! In this age of utilitarianism what
more unusual than this picture of a lovely, pure-souled woman,
apart from the world, teaching generation after generation. Her
friends I found every where, and it was always a passport to
recognition, if I mentioned the Nister’s name to new acqua atances
in the province of Quebec. May her memory never fade in your
community and may her example never die !”’
Ricuakp Drrby.
New York, Jan. I1th, 1894.
164 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
CHAPITER XX
OUR VENERABLE CHAPLAIN’S SACERDOTAL JUBILEE HERALDS
THE: PEACEFUL CLOSE OF A HOLY LIFE
It wasin 1889. Fifty years had elapsed since the youthful
Levite had been invested with the august privileges and
powers of the priesthood. But since three or four years our
venerable Father’s health had failed so far that now it was
necessary for him to have an assistant for the duties of his -
charge. His daily mass, with an hour or t+vo in the confessional,
was all that his feeble frame would permit.
The 16th of March must therefore pass unobserved. So
our good Father had decided; yet the prohibition did not
prevent the execution of a choice selection of sacred music
during the anniversary Mass, nor the presentation of appro-
priate tokens of regard and souvenirs of the occasion,
The following little poem. remains to us, recalling sweet
memories of the years our ever cherished friend and Father
devoted to the interests and happiness of the inmates of the
cloister.
THE GOLDEN JUBILEE
March 16th, 1839 1889
Dear REVEREND FatuER,
Must this hallowed pay
Be silent? all its bright hours pass away
Without an echo in that Cloister dear,
Your own “Sweet Home" since many a happy year?
What joyous festive scenes before us rise,
As to the past we turn with pensive eyes !
THE CHAPLAIN’S SACERDOTAL JUBILEE 165
How did the Convent’s inmates haste to pay
Their grateful homage on St. George’s day!
What merriment around! In thought, how we
Would celebrate your Golden Jubilee !
Trusting that, as our obligations grew,
So health prolonged might arm with vigor new ;
Nor sickness, with her cruel train, appear,
Casting her shadow o’er the Convent dear,
Ever your home whate’er may be in store,
Whether returning strength, and long years more,
As we would fondly hope ; or, if not given
Your peaceful harbour, till the port of heaven.
Still, o’er the past, lit up with vivid ray,
Let untired Fancy poise her wing to-day.
O wondrous scene, now half a century gone!
How glowed the altar in that early dawn!
And how august the Pontiff, as with rite
Sublime, he stood amid the silvery light,
As of the Holy Spirit brooding there ;
While hands imposed and consecrating prayer,
Transform the souTHFruL Levite in that hour,
And crown him with the priesthood’s awful power.
Henceforth, obedient to his whispered word,
A Gop descends, and heaven’s high court is stirred !
The Precious Blood, once shed on Calvary’s height,
In cleansing stream flows o’er the soul contrite ;
And sacramental graces, at a sign,
Issue abundant from their source divine.
Thus gloriously commenced that bright career,
Of which this day completes the FIFTIETH YEAR.
What were the young priest’s labors, what success
Was seen his sacred ministry to bless, 4
What fruits were gathered ?—’Tis not ours to tell. |
|
Another period came, on which to dwell &
Is our delight, we of the Cloister’s shade.
With lingering pleasant, let it be surveyed
166 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
To-day, all grateful.
Four and thirty years
Our Fatuer, Guipe AND Frrenp! how rich appears,
And how indelible in Mem’ry’s shrine,
The record, sacred in its ev’ry line.
Yes! on this Day, the Past before me lies,
Like some rich landscape, tinged with golden dyes.
There, one far-distant point attracts my sight:
'Tis Notre-Dame-de-Grace, a picture bright !
Her spacious, lightsome, well-filled halls are new ;
Examinations pass in long review.
Closing the session, some allusion’s made
To College days: “ Amusement’s car conveyed
Far up the Hill of Science” —Pleasant strife
For youthful minds, thought we ; and soon to life
The Convent Journal rose, on agile wing
Beyond the eastern inner court to bring
News of the Cloister. Under fostering care,
Beauty and usefulness are still its share.
How patiently our Father would peruse
Those feeble pages, feigning they amuse
From graver duties. Line by line was scanned,
The gold set free from dross with careful band.
Thus, with new ardor, youthful minds were fired ;
To scale Parnassus’ heights each one aspired.
‘ Meanwhile, as peaceful fled, year after year,
The studious pupils that assembled here,
| The same unwearied kindness have received,
| The same DEAR Frienp has with them joy’d or grieved ;
With the same zeal did he his hours devote,
Learning and science ever to promote,
| Was he less thoughtful of the hours of play ?
“ome, dearest friends! thro’ pleasant arcades stray ;
i ollow the shady walks, or here admire
The toys, the games, that children most desire ;
In winter, view the snow-hill, towering high,
And see the sledges gay that swift go by.
THE CHAPLAIN’S SACERDOTAL JUBILEE 167
_ sities
And when came round, ‘rom passing year to year,
That work of love to ev’ry pastor dear,
To teach God’s “ little ones ” their destiny,
Their hearts prepare for the great mystery,
Can you, dear chosen ones, forget the zeal,
The tender care for your eternal weal,
You, who successive stood around his knee ?
As younger shoots replace the parent-tree,
Mother and child, from the same lips to learn,
To serve your God, with His dear love to burn,
How happy, closing the scholastic year,
Our Father stood with friends and parents dear,
Prizes to give and Graduates to crown!
Their joys, their well-earned triumphs, were his own.
Yet happier still the day, and more serene,
That consecrated to the Heavenly Queen
Their youthful hearts ;—or heard the sacred vows
That gave the Lord of Heaven another Spouse.
Was it less sweet a privilege to stay
The soul’s last parting ?~all her fears allay,
Pointing the trembling dove to that abode
Of peace and bliss, the bosom of her God ?
And shall we e’er forget the patient care,
The nightly vigils, and the tedious wear
Of labors, which are prized at their full worth,
When our Monastic History went forth ?
Not for the Cloister only was the gain ;
Throughout the land it linked tradition’s chain,
Unlocking streams from sources long concealed, BS
That deeds of pious ancestry revealed.
Later, the same Goop Frignp pointed the way ;
At his desire, ‘“ The Glimpses” saw the day.
Meantime, to honor an historic name,
The pride of Brescia on her lists of fame,
Of Ursulines the Foundress well-beloved,
A Confraternity had been approved.
168 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
Satnt ANGeELA’s examples safely lead ;
In virtue’s paths her clients walk with speed.
How zealous did the good Director seek
To win young souls to imitate the meek
Maiden of Brescia. Writings, and discourse,
And monthly Mass, unite their triple force.
In all, his aim, the precious soul to save ;
To fortify, where rose temptation’s wave.
Oh! how our Father’s heart had beat with joy,
And deemed it bliss on earth without alloy,
Had he beheld from Rome the favor sought,
The nimbus of the Saint, so dearly bought,
And Mother Guyart’s name, as Sainte Marir,
Invoked upon his GoLpEN JUBILEE !
But further why attempt the long review
Of such a Past? Each moment vistas new,
Pleasant to sight and destined ne’er to fade,
Open on ev’ry side in Mem’ry’s glade :
And Echo hears that voice, e’en as of old,
Ready to sanction, not adventuring bold,
But ever willing wisely to approve
The progress timely, or the prudent move.
Now, 'tis the Convent walls that grow apace,
As wider halls are needed, to replace
Some time-worn structure ; or to make more room
While Normal schools in dawning prospect loom ;
Or larger parlors; lodgings more complete,
Where the young novice tinds her calm retreat.
Now, while the future opens to his view,
He hails the project of a convent new,
To rise on shores that still half-buried lie
In the primeval forests, where the sky,
Mirror’d in waters bright, will soon outspread _
O’er populations, gathered by the tread
4 Of iron steam-horse.
Then, ere ardor wanes,
Another convent’s seen on Stanstead’s plains ;
THE CHAPLAIN’S SACERDOTAL JUBILEE 169
Another scion, parted from that tree
So firmly rooted in security,
That through the storms’ two centuries have seen,
And more, its spreading branches still are green.
Truly ’tis Heaven’s own boon, a FrieNnb sincere,
In prudence unsurpassed, in counsel clear,
In doctrine sure. Intelligent, refined,
Learned, and rich in gifts of heart and mind,
Such as befit the scholar and the sage,
Worthy the confidence of youth and age;
One whose devotion, pure as Eastern skies,
Has never seen a cloud to mar its dyes,
Winning all souls to God with equal care ;
Such was the Frienp, the Guipg, so long our share!
As when some goodly ship, now homeward bound
With riches laden, lighter barks surround,
Watching with joy the lull of every breeze
That still detains her in their quiet seas,
And fearing, lest with glorious sails unfurled,
They see her glide across the watery world
To disappear in yon horizon, where
The sunset’s brightest hues are glowing fair ;
So, we surround you, Fatuer, and we pray
To still detain you with us many a day,
Knowing the riches safe, secure the tide,
Oh! hasten not ; but long with us abide!
We'll guard the memory of other days,
FaTHER BELOoveD ! to cheer and guide our ways,
While fragrant wreaths entwining your dear name,
A life-long debt of gratitude proclaim !
Although all earthly scenes must fade away,
The GoLpEN JUBILEE OF HEAVEN shall ever stay,
And reunite our hearts in God’s dear love :
Of change there is no fear in that bright world above !
ake
170 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
There still remained a few months during which it was given
us to assist at the holy Sacrifice offered daily and so devoutly
by the venerated invalid, till at length his feebleness no
longer permitted him to leave his room. What a consolation
was it not for his spiritual daughters to wait upon their
incomparable Father to the last, and to prove not only that
an Ursuline can readily become a Sister of Charity when the
occasion requires it, but that in consecrated hearts there is a
depth of sympathy, tenderness and gratitude mingled with
reverence which cannot be surpassed by mere human ties
and affections,
On the 10th of January, 1890, there were symptoms of the
near approach of the end. Prepared by the reception of the last
sacraments, the venerable patient still lingered till the 22nd,
when the silver chords of life were loosed all gently, and the
freed soul took its flight, upward and secure, to the bosom
of God, that God alone loved and served from earliest youth.
Of the following hours what can be told? Who has not
experienced that feeling of desolation with which one turns
away from that silent room where death has passed? Too
soon the sad preparations are made. The late pleasant
apartment is gloomy and vacant. Beneath it, to the right
of the portico, the Convent parlor has been transformed to a
mortuary chapel, There the dear remains, robed in priestly
vestments, lay on a temporary catafalque, while nuns within
the grating and friends from without, successively enjoyed
the sad privilege of watching and praying in the presence of
their friend, who seemed reposing in sleep rather than cold
and still in death.
On the day appointed for the burial, the sanctuary and the
nave of the chapel being draped in mourning and the altar with
its black antependium, relieved by the symbolic white cross,
the casket was removed thither, and the Requiem High Mass
ots
BETHANY IN THE URSULINE CONVENT 171
was celebrated by a brother-chaplain !, Reverend A, Godbout,
in presence of a large concourse of priests, the nuns in the
interior chapel plaintively chanting in response the parts
assigned to the choir,
Here, when mass was over, the beautiful funeral service of
the ritual was performed, the trustful “ Jn paradisum,” the
soul-inspiring “ Benedictus Dominus Deus Israél”, chanted
by the priests and nuns, all gathering around the grave pre-
pared beneath the sanctuary, the casket was lowered to its
last resting-place, just near the holy altar, where the daily
sacrifice is never offered without a memento from the grateful
hearts of all the Sisterhood, for the eternal repose of their
two venerated chaplains, Father Thomas Maguire and Father
George Louis Lemoine,
CHAPTER XXII »
BETHANY IN THE URSULINE CONVENT
There was a Bethany in Judea, as our readers well
remember, where dwelt a family particularly beloved of our
Lord. The sisters Mary Magdalen and Martha were often
favored by His visits, and on these occasions each entertained
Him according to the instincts of a heart entirely devoted to
His service. Mary, in a spirit of piety, would sit at His feet,
listening to His words, perhar~ to transmit them to those
1—Another funeral at the basilica, that of Mgr Legaré, V. G.,
prevented His Eminence Cardinal Taschereau from bestowing upon
our deceased chaplain that last token of his friendship and esteem.
172 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
over whom she might have influence ; Martha would minister
to His wants, and diligently employed herselfin preparing a
repast for her Guest and for the family,
The different tastes and occupations of the two sisters who
loved our Lord so sincerely and lived together so amicably,
have been taken as a type of the two orders in our religious
families, the choir and the lay-Sisters, both equally con-
secrated to the service of God by their holy vows, but serving
Him in different avocations. The Ursuline choir-sister will
have the privilege of chanting the Divine Office; she may
remain longer at the feet of Jesus, whose teachings she is
to transmit to her youthful charge. The lay-sister has to
provide for the daily wants of the household, both nuns and
pupils, She will perhaps, at times, like Martha of Bethany,
“ be troubled about many things”; but she knows that “one
thing is necessary”, and that is, tu labor in the spirit of
peace, seeking in all she does to please God.
The services she renders are as necessary to the prosperity
of the institution as are those performed in the school-room
by the choir-sister. Her vows are as sacred, and her title of
“ Spouse of Christ” as authentic and glorious, Martha is
Mary’s sister, and the relationship is marked by feelings of
reciprocal esteem and affection, each depending upon the
other and contributing by mutual services to their mutual
happiness.
The lay-sister has her duties and her privileges, defined
by the rule and enjoyed with all the security of a right. She
has her hours of prayer and of recreation: she has even a
share in the Divine Office by the recitation of her rosary,
arranged to correspond to the divisions of Vespers, Matins,
&c. When, after the mid-day recreation, there is reading for
a quarter of an hour, the lay-sister is there with her mending
or knitting, refreshing her mind while resting from more
i ao
KX » hes” fe ies
4
BETHANY IN THE URSULINE CONVENT 173
active employments. When she has prepared the repast,
she will be served at table by a choir-sister, another of
whom will read aloud some edifying page ; and thus the day
will pass, the two orders mingling to form one harmonious
whole, the family of our Lord.
Our pupils, the boarders especially, learn to value and love
the lay-sisters on whom they bestow the familiar title of ma
tante, They retain a life-long grateful remembrance of the
aid-infirmarian, if ever they have had an occasion to expe-
rience her tender care and extreme kindness, The younger
pupils especially have a great regard for the sister who has
care of their linen ; her appearance in the corridor with their
clothes-bag or a parcel sent in from home, is certain to be the
signal of delightful haste to meet the smiling messenger.
Who, even among the oider pupils, will ever forget the
vigilant guardians of the dormitory, whose sleep was never
so profound as not to be dispelled by the first whispered call,
Ma tante ? If the trouble was a tooth-ache, an ear-ache, or even
a mere fit of sleeplessness, how quickly was the good sister
at the bedside of the complaining one, her kindness being
often as efficacious as the best remedies of her mediciue-box !
The lay-sisters appointed to the care of the apartments
oceupied by the pupils, their dormitories, class-rooms, etc., or
to wait upon table during meals, are remembered by name,
and past pupils, after years of absence, will send kind mes-
sages and make inquiries after thew favorites. The other
Sisters, not employed among the pupils, are not always known
by their religious name, but by some other designation, as,
the “swur qui prie toujours”, i.e. “ she who is always
praying” or celle qui vit toujours, i, e. “ who is always
smiling,” or “ who is so good ” etc. Thus were known Sisters
St, Amable, Ste. Candide, Ste. Prudentienne, Ste. Thécle and
others.
»
174 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
Three among our lay-sisters of the last half-century had
attained the measure of the golden jubilee, The first, Sister
Leclere of St. Alexis, professed in 1803, died in 1859, at
the age of seventy-five, Laborious and capable of rendering
service in many ways, she was especially skilful in the use
of a carpenter’s tools, and in the early part of the century
saved the house many a shilling by handling the plane, the
saw and the chisel in the manufacture of various articles,
such as benches, tables, and even a teacher’s rostrum, which
has only lately given place to one more expensive, but not
more convenient,
The second jubilarian was Sceur Couture de St. Denis,
professed in 1812, deceased in 1864, at the age of seventy-
four, For many years the garden was under her care, and in
those days plums were plentiful as well as currants, angelica
and vegetables generally. Flowers also were cultivated with
the success of an experienced florist, During the winter
months, the late gardener made shoes for the sisterhood,
The third jubilarian, Soeur Ratté de Ste. Genevieve, pro-
fessed in 1822, lived to her eightieth year, dying in 1879,
The good sister may have been known among the pupils as
la tante qui vit toujours, so pleasant was her countenance
and so obliging her disposition, A specialist she had been
so all the
ad
in pastry cooking. “Such cakes! such macarons
little girls of the minim department declared ; and the older
ones agreed with them.
As a body, our lay-sisters possess admirably the spirit of
their state. They appreciate its privileges, they love its
duties, their only ambition being to accomplish in the best
manner possible the various tasks that are assigned them.
The greatest fault they are apt to commit is over-work,
now carrying a burden that is above their strength, now
lifting a weight aione, when aid would have been required,
h
h
BETHANY IN THE URSULINE CONVENT 175
They love to find an opportunity to exercise an act of
charity, and this without being noticed. On Sundays and
holydays their delight is to spend long hours in the chapel.
It is the house of their good Master, for whom they have
toiled all the week, Now they will have @ good time,
praying for all their friends, for the conversion of sinners, for
the Holy Father and other intentions without number, One
Sister goes round the stations twice at least every Sunday,
Another spends less time in the chapel; she has another
sort of devotion: it is to help in the infirmary, the kitchen
or in any office where there is work to be done on Sundays,
Or perhaps there is some helpless one, a sister who is aged
or infirm, In such cases there is ever a devoted sister,
whose special duty and pleasure it seems to be to constitute
herself her nurse ; and what a tender and watchful guardian
she proves! ‘she sickness may be long, but the nurse never
tires, and when her charge is over, and the room is vacant,
how sad it is, how sincerely she regrets the dear Sister’s
departure! It was such a comfort to wait upon her !
And let no one think that the writer is describing here an
ideal sisterhood, such as does not exist, No, she has only
collected her own observations and the daily remarks she
has heard from others. “ How good, how iespectful these
sisters are! How hard-working, how agreeable they must be
to God! They do not spare themselves, They are happy to
win heaven so easily, ete.”—‘“ Oh! it is a good and pleasan‘
thing for brethren or sisters to dwell together in unity, ”
If indeed “ Mary has chosen the better part,” Martha is
happy to abide with her, and she has often repeated in her
heart the words of a lay-sister on her death-bed : ‘1 would
never have exchanged my place as a lay-sister in an Ursuline
convent for that of a queen in her royal palace,”
176 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
CHAPTER XXII
THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDATION
OF THE MONASTERY
CONCLUSION
Our readers have seen how the 200th anniversary of the
foundation of the Monastery was celebrated ; it is the subject
of one of the last chapters of the “Glimpses.” That of the
250th year was not dissimilar in its festivities, which comm-
encing on July 30th, lasted three days.
Among the pleasing features of the day, one of the most
snemorable was the Papal Benediction obtained for us by the
fatherly care of His Eminence Cardinal Taschereau, who had
addressed the Holy Father a letter, a copy of which, as well
as the answer :rom Rome, is preserved in our archives.
Witu the usual forms the letter states that: “On the first of
August of this present year of our Lord, 1889, the religious
of the Ursuline Monastery of Quebec will celebrate the 250th
anniversary of the arrival of their foundress, Venerable
Motier Mary of the Incarnation with the companions of her
toils.
“« Since 1639, the members of this community have not
ceased to devote themselves to the instruction of young girls
with indefatigable zeal and entire success, Since its found-
ation the monastery has constantly contributed to the edt” -
cation of the faithful by its truly religious spirit and its strict
regularity.”
The Cardinal then solicits a plenary indulgence for all the
faithful who, havi g fulfilled the usual conditions, shall visit
the church of the Ursulines and pray for the intentions of
~~ lige
THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY 177
ee ee
the Holy Father on one of the days of the triduum., He “ soli-
cits the Apostolic Benediction for the Ursulines of Quebec as
well as for the three houses of their order which they have
founded ; also for their pupils present, past and future, that
mothers and daughters may rejoice together and give glory
to God,”
The answer from Rome concluded as follows: “ Finally
His Holiness bestows with the utmost cordiality His Bene-
diction upon all the members of the Ursuline Community
and their pupils.
(Signed) Archbishop of Tyre, Secretary of the
Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith.”
‘The musical part’ of the celebration during the three days
was enhanced by the presence of an orchestra under
the artistic training of Mr. Ernest Gagnon, a friend of the
community whose obliging concurrence has on more than
ong occasion been kindly offered and gratefully accepted.
The decorations of the chapel, with lights and flowers in
profusion, were less elaborate than those of 1839; such
was the testimony of some who had witnessed the splendors
of the bi-centennial.
A glance over the long list of nuns whose names follow
that of Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation since
1639, shows us that at each fiftieth year there were some who
had witnessed the preceding celebration or the commence-
ment of the period. Ifin 1689, the three who had arrived
in 1639 were all deceased, there was still one who had joined
them the following year, 1640, and who was certainly
a strong link with the past, as she had lived a year with the
foundresses in that little convent on the wharf, sharing the
hardships as well as the joys of the commencement.
12
178 REMINISCENCES OF FIFT YEARS
At the Hundredth anniversary, 1739, there were five
Mothers living who had spent the half-century in the Mon-
astery, as we have mentioned at that date. And now, in 1889,
there were also five who had taken part in the rejoicings of
the second centennial !.
CONCLUDING REMARKS, LISTS
At the close of this half-century, some remarks on .the
present state of education in the Convent might be expected.
Nor can we refrain from mentioning again, on the same
subject, the immense obligations of the community to our
ecclesiastical Superiors, the Bishops of Quebec.
If, in the course of the preceding pages, the paternal
solicitude of the chief Pastor of the diocese for all the
inmates of the Monastery has appeared on every occasion
that regarded their welfare, temporal or spiritual; what
shall we say of their judicious and enlightened zeal, as
exerted to promote the principal object of the institution, the
‘education of young girls, that education which is never to
lose sight of its double object, by preparing useful members
of society and heirs of the kingdom of heaven ?
“he list of our obligations would be long, while the names
of Bishops and Archbishops to whom the community owes
a special meed of gratitude would succeed each other only
to inscribe with ever increasing admiration the name of
His Grace the Most Reverend Louis Nazaire Begin, Arch-
]~These were Mother Jeanne Létourneau of St, Paul, professed
in 1830, deccased in 1893; Mother Louise Aylwin of St. Philip, pro-
fessed in 1882, deceased in 1892; Mother Joséphine Michaud of Ste.
Cécile, professed in 1835, deceased in 1890; Mother Kate Murphy-
Kelly of Ste. Philomena, professed in 1839, d: seased in 1890; Mother
— a white-veiled novice in 1838,
CONCLUDING REMARKS 179
bishop of Cyrene and the present administrator of the diocese,
whose zeal for the promotion of education is proportionate to
his life-time efforts and labors in that great and holy Cause.
In perfect accordance with the recent letter of the Holy
Father on Catholic education, “ religion is not only taught”
to our pupils “ at certain hours, but all the rest of the instruc-
tion exhales, as it were, a fragrance of Christian . piety.
The imparting of the various branches of human knowledge
is associated with the culture of the soul,”
The Normal School department, organized in 1857, has thus
far proved most satisfactory. Not only has it during these
forty years been fruitful in religious vocations, but hundreds
of teachers among the eighteen hundred pupils graduated from
the school, have merited praise in accomplishing the work
for which it was instituted, that of teaching in the parishes
throughout Canada, In this work, the community considers
the pupils of the Normal school as their special auxiliaries.
They are uncloistered Ursulines, who are commissioned to
disseminate throughout the country those principles of piety
and good morals, those habits of order, neatness and good
manners which have been inculcated to them so carefully |
by the nuns charged with their formation.
It is particularly in the department of the Normal School
that the Sodality of the Children of Mary enrolls its numer-
ous clients. Among them, also, the Arch-ccnfraternity of St,
Angela is in great honor, They love to claim the virgin of
Brescia as the patroness of their future labors, Happy is that
young girl who goes forth from the Normal School with her
well-earned diploma, if with her book-learning she has acquired
“the higher lore that sanctifies.” Then is she truly prepared
for the important task that awaits her, and within her sphere,
her infiuence will not fail to be salutary.
180 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
As teaching is the first duty of an Ursuline, after that of
her own sanctification, it is ever the aim of the Superiors of
the community to provide for the class-rooms, well qualified
teachers as well as to supply the school with books and
apparatus, school-furniture, etc. In short, they are solicitous
to keep pace with the progress of the times and to meet
the expectations of parents to whatever rank of society
they may belong.
For advice and aid in bringing up to the standard of the
times the course of studies in the department of the boarders
and half-boarders, we have already mentioned our deep obli-
gations to some distinguished members of the Seminary of
Quebec, as well as to our two venerated chaplains now
deceased, Father Thomas Maguire and Father G. L. Lemoine.
In the latter, we had lost, in 1889, a faithful and devoted
friend; but the watchful care of Divine Providence would
not abandon a community so grateful for past favors. Our
recent loss has been remarkably compensated by the
successive nomination of two members of the clergy
eminently qualified for the important position, the Reverend
Louis Paradis, our chaplain during five years, succeeded in
1895 by the Reverend Lionel St. G. Lindsay.
It will bea grateful task ata future day for one of the sister-
hood, to recount all that was undertaken and accomplished by
these excellent directors, whether in laying the foundations
of a solid piety and forming the character of the pupils, or
in exciting their emulation and contributing to their advance-
ment in their studies. But let us not trespass upon these
future pages further than to bless the Hand of God, who
directs so graciously all things that they “ work together for
good” in favor of the daughters of Venerable Mother Mary
of the Incarnation and their youthful charge.
CONCLUDING REMARKS 181
But an event of touching interest for the Ursulines of
Quebec has yet to be mentioned, and our readers naturally
expect to be told what are now the prospects of a speedy
accomplishment of our wishes and theirs.
The process for the beatification and canonization of the
Venerable Foundress of the Monastery of Quebec, instituted
with all the required formalites in 1867, under the authority
of His Eminence Cardinal Taschereau, Archbishop of Quebec,
has been transferred to Rome, where the several Commis-
sions previously held have been declared valid.
As thirty years have now elapsed since they were com-
menced, as all the steps taken have only served to confirm
the reputation of sanctity which has ever surrounded her
name, and which, in 1874, won her, by the decision of the
Court of Rome, the title of Venerable, our hepes of a
favorable issue point to a day not far distant. The docu-
ments collected so solemnly to prove her heroic virtues are
there in Rome; the Holy Father himself is interested in the
cause, and in due time the decree will go forth authorizing
the name of Marie Guyart de l’Incarnation to be publicly
invoked as “ Blessed Mother Mary of the Incarnation ”, or
better, “Saint Mary of the Incarnation.” Such is our
prayer, such is our steadfast hope, as it is of the twelve
thousand Ursulines throughout the world, all of whom, we
believe, know the history and invoke the aid of our
VENERABLE MOTHER MARIE DE L’INCARNATION,
182 REMINISCENCES OF FIFTY YEARS
SUPERIORS SINCE 1839 AND COMMUNITY IN 1897
3. Mother Adélaide Plante of St. Gabriel; Superior from 1836 to
1842; 1848 to 1854; 1857 to 1863; 1866 to 1872.
. Mother Isabella McDonell of St. Andrew; from 1842 to 1848 ;
i854 to 1857; 1863 to 1866, deceased 1866.
. Mother Adéle Cimon of St. Mary; from 1872 to 1875.
. Mother Georgiana Van Felson of St. George ; from 1875 to 1878 ;
1884 to 1890.
27. Mother Elizabeth ‘Tims of St. Catherine ; from 1878 to 1884.
28. Mother Georgiana Létourneau of Mary of the Assumption ; from
1890 to 1896.
29, Mother Flavie Gagnon of Ste. Antoinette, 1896.
PROFESSED CHOIR-NUNS, 1897. .
Professed in
Mothers Josephine Holmes of Ste. Croix.....cccceeseesersereeeeeeeee 1840
Shristine Delorme of St. Charles........scesecessee eeeeseeee 1846 |
Catherine Gosselin of Ste. Claire ......cecceeceeseseseceeeeee L848
Marie Louise Proulx of Ste. Julies...ccsseeccees eeeeeeees 1850)
Catherine Doherty of St. Christine........ccccceeeeeeeeees 1857
Flavie Gagnon of Ste. Antoinette ........ccecceeeeeseeee 1860
Luce Couture of M. de la Visitation..........ccce esseeeee 1861
Marie Osithée Faucher of Ste. Héléne........ccceeeeeeee 1866
Reine Girouard of Ste. Gertrude........cececccceeersesseres 1867
Antoinette Routier of Ste, Cordule......ccccuceeeeeveeeee 1867
Emma Nault of St. Joseph...... ccccecceeeesescevees seeeeeees 1868
Emma Cimon of St. Jean Baptiste......c.0cceeeeereees 1868
Adine Angers of Ste. Marie Madeleine, .........006 1869 |
Clémentine de la Chevrotiére of St. Marc..........eceees 1869
Georgina Létourneau of M. de l’Assomption............ 1869
Célanire Gosselin of Ste. ee ssesyaeeeeober Vid adecssety LOLO
Eveline Blanchet of St. Michel.. tserecsancocaseconces LOGS
Stella Murray of St. Edward.. sevavedaneoversaesseodpee OMe
Henriette Audette of M. de ta ‘Bhovidenoes sossccocenese ROEM
Paméla Roy ¢2 St. LOuis.......0.sscceessscescessssscscsooseees L874
Emma Chaperon of Ste. Aurélie, ...cscecs-seeerseeeceseeee 1876
THE COMMUNITY OF PROFESSED CHOIR-NUNS, 1897 183
Professed in
(
Mothers Alvine Sirois of Ste. Elizabeth.. ious senaenseevenesars LOPE
1836 to Joséphine Chaffers of M. de I’ Enfant. Thus Wadeaceaseeses 1878
Sara Chabot of Ste. Clotilde ........cccceseee seeeees cee eeeeee 1879
o 1848; Marcelline Talbot of St. F@lix....ccccccsececsscseeseeeeeeeeee 1881
Catherine Power of St Bartholomew.....c....seeseseeeeee 1882
Bridget Coote of St. Ursula........cccsssesseecsesesseseeceeeee 1882
to 1878 ; Grace Nagle of St. Agmes.........csccrscssosereressessscseveees 1882
Margaret Lindsay of St. Agatha, .....cccccccserseeererseeee 1883
884. Caroline Fréchette of St. Frs, Xavier........cscceseceseeee 1884
n; from Marie Thibault of St. Cyrille.......cccsecsseseeeeeeescseeee 1885
Eleonore Higgins of St. Paula sewsab besabecesadcieaecgveneates 1885
Sisters 1 Teresa Harrison of M. of the Rosary.........cscseees eeeree 1886
Alice Riverin of St. Frs. de Borgia.......cccceseeeeeeeeeeee 1887
Albertine Lachance of St. Thomas......ccccc-csecseeeseeeee L887
Marie Leclere of Ste. Jeanne de Chantal...........se000 1887
Rose Williams of Mary of Calvary........... sescsseeeseeeee 1887
Albina Paré of M. de l’Annonciation..............066 e200 1887
fessed in
| Clarisse Hudon of St. Alphonse ....cc.c.cssseeseeceeeeeeeeee 1887
Joséphine Galerneau of St. BenOit.......06..ccecseeeeseeee 1888
Antoinette Routhier of Ste. Joséphine.....e-cecceeeceee 1889
Marie Rouleau of M. du Précieux Sang..........cseeeeeee 1889
Arabella Laliberté of Ste. Thérése........ceesecseeseeeee eee 1889
Alphonsine Dumas of St. Frs. d’Assise..............c0000 1892
\ Alphonsine Galerneau of M. de la Purification ......... 1892
| Rosa Lapierre of Ste, Adélaide.........ceeceeeceeerecreeeeeee 1893
Adélaide Matte of M. du Sacré-Coour...........sceeseeeees 1894
Adélaide Lachance of M. du Bon-Secours ................ 1894
Joséphine Boily of St. Bonaventure .........ceceseeeeeeeeee 1894
Eva Raymond of St. Athanase.........ccsseseesesceeeeeece s 1895
Elizabeth Colfer of St. Cecilia......... ceceseeeceeeeereeeeeees 1895 4
Wilhelmine Pelletier of St. Augustin.........cceceeeeeee 1896
Marie Lse O'Sullivan of St. Johni......... cecsescesesceeeeeee 1896
Adéle Taschereau of Ste. Monique... cesseees eevee 1897
Célanire Pelletier of Ste. Catherine 1897
1—Choir nuns, less than twelve years professed are usually designated as Sisters
ne scien carmmmiageaaeaincmasitiasa
:
:
:
. so L
i
Beat ea a 5
4
184 REMINISORNCES OF FIFTY YEARS
@ LAY-SISTERS
Professed in
; Sisters Esther Turcot of Ste Véronique ,.........ccccersereeecereee 1843
: Olive Fortier of Ste, ROs@.......ssccccssseeesetersessreeeeeees 1849
Marie Desharnais of Ste. Apolline.........csccccsererrrreee 1849
Marie Bédard of St. Frangois.......c.sscessseesesseeee eeeeee 1854
j Philoméne Sédileau of St. Bernard.,........:++seeeeeveee .- 1862
Aurélie Bouillé of St. Hyacinthe ........ccsccsseseereeees 1863
‘ Marie Fournier of St. Clément ......s..c00eseeeeerecseveeeeee 1864
Mathilde Bergeron of Ste. Thecle.........cesecerereeesereee 1866
Elmire Naud of St. Denis ..........ccseceeceeseeeersevesensees 1867
Caroline Turgeon of Ste. Marthe......-sccrccseseeeseeees 1871
Marie Paradis of St. ROCH..........ccseceerceeeeererseeseeetere 1874
Philoméne Marcoux of St. Joachim........ccccsseeeereseee [S75
Arthemise Harvey of St. Régis..........s000 eon etapeiseceenes 1885
Célina Tremblay of St. NicOlas......sscsceseceeereseee reeves 1885
, Honorine Cloutier of St. Amable .........cceeeeeseeeeeees ee 1887
Georgiana Martel of Ste. Genevieve ........cceccceeee sree 1888
Séraphine Dorion of St. AlOXiS........s.c0seccserseceeeeenees 1893
Angélina Dionne of Ste. Marguerite........seerreere 1894
Eugénie Paradis of St. Vincent de Paul..........+ee 1894
Emma Huot of St. Mathieu...........ccccecssecsessesrereee. 1895
Agnus Groleau: of St. Grégoire .........101 seecseeeereeeeeeess 1896
1 Marie Anne Huot of St. Laurent..........ccscccsrseeseseeees 1897
Total, not including Sisters aiding in our newly-founded Con-
vents, 77 professed nuns.
F
LAUS CHRISTI,
( \. PPR ane et D
j
| V ; ERRATA
{ aie
| oi Page 2 for “ 1874” read 1872.
% Cie. 12 for © 1862” read 1855.
ae ¢ “ 93 for “ 1830” read 1850.
| “ 38 for “ austerily ” read austerity.
Ge “ 45 for “ reserve ” read rescue.
ie “ 97 and following headings for “ visiters,” read visitors.
spe “104 for “ 1874” read L872.
Protessed in
tivcsececees 1843
Riki kncahare . 1849
sesstereesees 1849
sésege veces VOM
saseeeeess . 1862
sesccceecee. 1863
Lesessceeeees 1864
viesvessesees 1866
105 6atvesers LOOT
sbcasececens LOtd
ddsesceedeice LOEE
dessvenceiea MOO
eencecascese LOOT
founded Con-
read visitors.
|
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